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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25719781">Strictly Business</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyhannie/pseuds/happyhannie'>happyhannie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Business, Jisung is actually shy and cute, M/M, Minho and Jisung are heirs, Minho hates business, Minor Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Felix, Minor Hwang Yeji/Shin Ryujin, They’re Both Rich, rival companies, they’re both whipped</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:56:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,742</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25719781</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyhannie/pseuds/happyhannie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was pitiful really, that Minho was ready to attend a business dinner he hated the thought of and charm girls that he didn’t even like just to get a glimpse of Han Jisung in real life. The Han heir was an enigma and Minho was the one who wanted to solve his code.</p><p>Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Han Jisung, the boy Minho’s father hated, was the one to change  his life?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>247</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. one -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was summer, or a demonic version of it, Minho couldn’t ever remember the sun feeling as hot on his neck as it did in that moment. He clutched a glass of champagne in one hand and with the other he pushed up his sunglasses that had slipped slightly onto his nose. In the distance, his father could be heard yelling about something business related that Minho never really had the heart to care about.</p>
<p>This whole life was built on business. His father was the CEO of a Seoul based electronics firm, they were one of two suppliers to big names, alongside their rivals of course. Out of all of the things Minho had ever learned about business, perhaps the lesson his father had tried to teach him the most was to never get too close to your rivals and that they undoubtedly were the most evil force on Earth. </p>
<p>Now Minho could safely say he had never even seen a single member of the Han family, except for a few photos of his parents stood at dinners looking almost too friendly with Mr and Mrs Han. He knew of them though, in fact, his father had told him almost every detail of their lives. They hadn’t married for love, he had pointed out to Minho, to which Minho recalled that his mother and father, although they loved each other now, hadn’t married for love either. Another fact was that their son was stuck up and spoilt and would ‘never make a good head of a business due to his own impenetrable self rightousness’. </p>
<p>This was a fact that Minho would’ve readily believed had it not been for its source. The boy loved his father but where the Han’s were concerned, Minho knew that he would go to any length to cast them in a bad light to him. He had heard of Han Jisung only what he assumed that Han Jisung had heard of him. Minho has decided to reserve judgement until the time that they finally met. </p>
<p>According to his father’s conversation that he had most definitely not been eavesdropping on, Minho thought that his chance to finally meet the Han’s heir would come much sooner than he had anticipated. In two days, his mother and father were due to attend the country’s largest business dinner. Minho’s father had talked about the dinner almost constantly for the entire month of July during every year that Minho could remember. This year was no different to the one that preceded, the dinner was the topic of every conversation Mr Lee ever seemed to have.</p>
<p>“Minho!” A sharp voice cut into the silence. The boy simply placed down his glass and lowered his sunglasses before making eye contact with his father, “a word,” the man demanded.</p>
<p>Minho sighed in annoyance before standing up from his lounger and following his father to wherever he was leading them. It was no secret that whenever the two talked it never really ended amicably, Minho had never been one to know how to pretend to care and considering his father’s entire life centred on business (which, obviously, Minho couldn’t care less about) only a fool wouldn’t be able to see why they talked so little. </p>
<p>When they finally reached Mr Lee’s office, the younger boy took a seat before removing his sunglasses and placing them in the case that hung from the loop of his swimming shorts, “yes father?” he asked not even bothering to hide his disinterest. </p>
<p>“You shall be attending the business dinner with your mother and I on Friday,” came the confirmation of Minho’s assumption, “as you know this dinner is vitally important for the business, this is where we meet not only with our stakeholders but with firms who we sell too and firms who we would like to sell to instead of the Han’s. You can probably infer from this that the Han’s will be in attendance also, what I need from you is to charm every girl in that room before Han Jisung does.”</p>
<p>Minho fought every muscle in his body to stop himself from either scoffing or laughing. “Okay father,” he replied calmly with a straight face to hide how funny he found the situation. Of course, Minho knew how to charm, he had been brought up on it, that was ‘the world of business’ his father had told him when he had first charmed his way to a deal when he was 13. However, he had little experience with girls. It would take an idiot not to see that Minho had no interest in any girls but he supposed his father was an idiot.</p>
<p>He was dismissed from the office after that and rather than returning to the pool, Minho found himself wandering up the stairs to his room. Ever since he was born, the boy knew that he was destined to take over the family business, it had been passed down from his grandfather to his father and would inevitably be passed down from his father to him. Although Minho didn’t show it, he despised this fact. </p>
<p>He’d never been into the ‘real world’ so he supposed that it was impossible for him to know how things worked for normal people yet, Minho wished for nothing more than to be classed as normal. For all he seemed proud and sassy and like he cared for nothing more than his rich lifestyle and possessions, Minho knew that he would give everything he had up in a heartbeat if it meant that he could have real friends. </p>
<p>It seemed silly, the boy thought, that he found it so hard to make friends and it wasn’t even like he had never had one but Minho simply always saw straight through them. A prime example of why Minho no longer attempted to find friendship was his ex-best friend Choi Namwoon. Their friendship had been beautiful at first, their personalities matched up perfectly and Minho found it almost too easy to vent all of his insecurities to Namwoon and the boy would simply listen and give advice when asked. It lasted a while, maybe seven months or so when Minho was 16, yet as soon as Minho began to think that maybe he had finally found a true friend for the first time in his life, Namwoon started wanting things.</p>
<p>First he’d stopped paying half of the bill whenever they ate together, Minho didn’t mind this at all. He assumed that his friend was probably struggling for money and as Minho had a bank balance larger than he knew what to do with, he was only too happy to help Namwoon out. However, it didn’t simply stop there. Next, Namwoon asked for a new phone. Minho, of course, bought him one. After all, a phone was essential and the boy knew that his friend was waiting on various calls from jobs and scholarships he had applied for. </p>
<p>The final straw came when Namwoon had asked him to pay his rent. Not even days before, Minho had overheard the boy bragging to his other friends about how ‘some rich kid i’m pretending to be friends with’ had bought him the newest iphone and paid for all of his meals. The boy had felt his heart break upon hearing those words but again he simply brushed them off thinking that maybe Namwoon was saying it so that they would want to be friends with him too, Minho had always wanted a group of friends after all. </p>
<p>Yet they never approached him, only Namwoon did, with a notice of overdue rent and pleading eyes. It had taken Minho every ounce of energy and strength he had left in him to simply tell the boy to ‘fuck off’ and slam the door in his face. Although he knew it was for the best, it sure didn’t feel that way to Minho. He spent days with his finger hovering over the call button on Namwoon’s contact before he finally deleted it. Acceptance hurt the most, Minho had to accept the fact that he was lied to, that people only wanted him for his money and most importantly, that he was alone again.</p>
<p>Yet, Minho was older now. His 19th birthday had come and gone and now he was more aware of people who became close to him because of what he was and not because of who he was. It was almost funny that whenever his mind drifted off and thought of this subject, he always found himself wondering about the Han’s son. </p>
<p>Minho knew extremely little of Han Jisung other than a few extremely biased accounts of him he had been fed by his father. Frankly, Minho didn’t care much for him either, if every other person his age he had ever met in the business world was anything to go by, Han Jisung would be a completely stuck up and horrible person. There was always a seed of doubt in Minho’s mind though. What if this boy was kind? What if this boy had managed to find friends? What if this boy had the loving family life that Minho had always dreamed of? What if he wasn’t as bad as Minho was always taught. </p>
<p>The Lee heir didn’t know whether it was the gay in him or the fact that he had almost fell for Han Jisung the second he clicked on his wikipedia page (although those two things were rather the same) but whatever it was, for the last few days, Minho couldn’t keep the boy from his mind. He’d almost exhausted the entirety of google images and the boy’s instagram private posts (that Minho wasn’t sure why he’d been accepted into but he didn’t really care) and still, Minho swore that he couldn’t find a single bad photo of the boy.</p>
<p>It was pitiful really, that Minho was ready to attend a business dinner he hated the thought of and charm girls that he didn’t even like just to get a glimpse of Han Jisung in real life. The Han heir was an enigma and Minho was the one who wanted to solve his code, he wished for nothing more than to know whether the boy was as his father had said or whether he was more like Minho himself. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Han Jisung, like him, cared little for business and more for friendship and love? Minho could only hope that this was the truth and not just a far away thought. Still, he couldn’t keep it away from his mind. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Han Jisung was the one to change Lee Minho’s life?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. two -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Holy shit,” Minho muttered under his breath upon resting his eyes on the Han heir.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The dinner came along much faster than Minho expected and before he knew it, he was fixing up his tie and adding a final coating of natural looking gloss to his lips. Excited would definitely not be the correct word to describe how Minho was feeling yet he still couldn’t quench his feeling of desperation to see Han Jisung in real life. </p><p>“Minho, come here please,” the voice of his father once again rang through the halls of their house. </p><p>“Okay,” the boy replied simply before making his way into his father’s office even though he already knew exactly what he was going to tell him.</p><p>“Regardless of what you know of the Han’s you have to be friendly with them,” Minho’s dad spoke as soon as his son pushed open the door, “but whatever you think of the boy, no matter how kind he seems, he should never be more than an acquaintance do you understand?” </p><p>“Of course father, I would never dream of becoming too friendly with a Han,” Minho lied bluntly. His words were ironic in a way as he’d had numerous dreams of being even more than friends with Han Jisung but he would never even consider telling his father.</p><p>“I’m glad to hear that Minho, now go and get your mother, the car is waiting outside,” the older man spoke and Minho nodded dutifully before leaving the room. </p><p>He did as he was told, as was normal, and he took his mother’s arm as they walked to the car. The dinner was a big occasion and he knew that his mom became nervous before every one, the boy could only assume that this was due to the 2006 dinner where his father had misspoken in his speech and had been laughed at by Mr Han, albeit in a friendly manner. Although, his mother had told him, that despite the fact the latter man seemed genuinely amused and there was no malice behind his actions, Minho’s father was still angered beyond belief. </p><p>They made their way to the car shortly after, Minho stepped inside first and was barely surprised to see the interior kitted with television screens and various dials for air conditioning and the like. His father greeted the driver before clambering into the car and sitting beside Minho’s mother. As soon as he entered, the atmosphere became thick with a tension that wasn’t there before, Minho could only assume that it was brought on by his father’s stony expression. </p><p>“Dad, are you okay?” Minho asked with mild concern, of course, he didn’t like what his father stood for, nor did he like what his father was trying to force him to be but Minho would be lying if he said he didn’t love him. The boy still got concerned to see his dad in such a way regardless of whether he cared for the reason or not.</p><p>“I’m fine Minho, you should know I dislike attending these sorts of events, or any event where I have to pretend to like Mr Han actually,” the older man scoffed.</p><p>Minho’s mother simply rolled her eyes before turning to face her husband, “I will never understand your hatred for that family, they are nothing if not kind to you,” she spoke.</p><p>The tension in the car seemed to thicken as she spoke, Minho found himself in shock as that was the first time he had ever heard anyone speak positively of the Han’s. His father seemed taken aback before he retorted, “you can’t see falseness like I can, competitors are never friendly.”</p><p>By the time his father stopped speaking, the car had pulled up by the start of a long red carpet, Minho assumed that should there have been more than just one person with a camera, he would’ve felt like a celebrity walking down it. However, regardless of the amount of photographers, the whole occasion still felt slightly overwhelming and the boy stuck close to his mother as they walked the carpet into the grand hall where the dinner would be taking place. </p><p>Minho’s father was most displeased when they reached their table to see that their company for the night would be no other than the Han family themselves. The Lee heir could feel the butterflies already beginning to spring into his stomach simply at the thought of meeting Han Jisung. He had entertained this exact situation so many times when he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Minho would imagine them laying eyes on each other for the first time and instantly falling in love, Jisung would sneak away with him to a rooftop somewhere and they would talk endlessly whilst oblivious to the world outside. </p><p>“Minho, the Han’s have arrived,” his father interrupted his thoughts by whispering discreetly into his ear. Minho simply lifted his head to view the family that now stood in front of him. </p><p>“Holy shit,” he muttered under his breath upon resting his eyes on the Han heir. The boy was everything Minho had ever imagined him to be and so so much more. His hair was styled perfectly above his forehead and his tight fitted black suit hugged his figure perfectly, Minho wanted nothing more than to pull the boy by his tie and press their lips together right at that very second.</p><p>“Hi I’m Lee Minho, nice to meet you,” he spoke instead.</p><p>“Han Jisung,” the boy squeaked out in an almost shy voice as he shook Minho’s waiting hand. The older boy simply offered him the warmest smile he could possibly manage and they took their seats next to each other. </p><p>Silence took over the table for a few moments as Mr and Mrs Han began pouring their drinks and writing their orders down onto the fancy looking paper in the middle of the table. It was suffocating really, Minho had never seen so many rich and influential people in one room before and he felt like he would’ve been an idiot to assume he belonged there. He couldn’t help but feel that Han Jisung felt the same way, the boy was sitting as far away from Minho as was humanly possible and the only thing he seemed slightly interested in was fiddling with the rings on his hands. As soon as Minho’s parents and the Han’s began making conversation, Minho saw the perfect opportunity.</p><p>“So...” he began awkwardly, “don't you think it’s odd that we haven’t met before?” Minho asked with a kind smile.</p><p>Jisung appeared taken aback but he returned the smile and spoke quietly, “yeah it’s a little odd.”</p><p>“Is it the first time you’ve been to something like this?” the older boy attempted to keep the conversation flowing.</p><p>“Yeah... uh.... my parents wanted me to come this year, I’m not really sure why.”</p><p>“Hmm... same here, my dad said something about me charming girls,” Minho laughed lightly.</p><p>“Yeah me too, it’s not really my kind of thing though, girls, not that I don’t like girls, they’re great but they’re not, not that I’m like... you know,” Jisung nervously fumbled over his words and Minho recognised the exact look in his eyes. The boy was so very obviously in the same situation he found himself in.</p><p>“Yeah me either, girls aren’t my thing at all,” Minho spoke quietly and something appeared to light up in Jisung’s eyes. </p><p>Their conversation died down a little after that as Minho’s father began introducing his son to the Han’s. He spoke about how Minho was great in his academics and how he had almost every girl in his school falling at his feet. It wasn’t a lie really, any girl in Minho’s school would date him given the chance but none of them had ever cared to know him so Minho knew that their attraction to him was purely superficial. </p><p>“Jisung, you’ve grown into a handsome young man since we last met,” Minho’s father complimented the youngest boy who just smiled quickly.</p><p>“Thank you,” he spoke shyly and the older boy could almost see the falseness on his father’s face. </p><p>Silence fell over the table again for a short while before Minho decided to break it, the atmosphere was cold and almost too harsh to handle, “would you excuse me, I’m just going to the restroom,” he smiled kindly before pushing his chair back and getting ready to stand up.</p><p>“I’ll come too,” he heard a shy voice from behind him, “I have to uh... use the restroom too,” Jisung smiled before standing up next to Minho and beginning to walk. </p><p>They left the hall in silence and only when they were alone in the corridor did Minho begin to speak, “ah I’m sorry if you actually needed the restroom I was just making an excuse to get out of there,” he admitted.</p><p>“No, I kind of caught onto what you were doing, I hope you don’t mind me joining you, I was a bit nervous in there around so many people I didn’t know,” the younger spoke much more confidently than Minho had heard him speak within the last hour. </p><p>“No, I don’t mind at all, actually i’m glad of your company,” the older grinned.</p><p>“You’re nicer than I expected,” Jisung blurted out suddenly and even he himself looked surprised by his words, “not that I expected you to be a horrible person, I’m so sorry I’m so bad at things like this.”</p><p>“No I totally understand you, you’re much nicer than I expected too, I hope we can be friends,” Minho smiled softly and the way Jisung’s eyes lit up made the older boy feel emotions he had never felt before. </p><p>“Yes!” the younger spoke excitedly, “ah I’m sorry I got carried away, I would love to be friends, I don’t actually have any yet, I don’t want to put you off or anything but I don’t think I’m probably the best person to be friends with.”</p><p>“You seem perfectly nice to me Jisung and besides I don’t have any friends either so maybe we’ll be good for each other,” Minho joked and Jisung nodded.</p><p>“Just don’t tell my parents we’re friends,” Jisung told the older boy. </p><p>“Mine either,” Minho replied and held his pinky out for the younger to wrap his own around, “pinky promise to be secret friends?” he asked. </p><p>“Pinky promise,” Jisung giggled.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi i really hope you enjoyed this chapter !! thank you so much for reading it !!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. three -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“I can’t believe we’ve formed a I’m gay but my parents want me to marry someone who would make a good business partner allicance,” Minho spoke out suddenly.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the two boys arrived back at the table, the dinner seemed to move much more quickly. They easily slipped into animated conversation about various things such as music and their joint love for animal documentaries. Minho was beginning to think that maybe Han Jisung was the best person he had ever met. </p>
<p>It was only when the dinner ended and various couples began to take their place to dance that Minho’s father attempted to break the two apart. “Minho, may I borrow you for a second?” the man asked and his son nodded at him before informing Jisung that he would be right back. </p>
<p>As soon as they reached the edge of the room, the boy’s father began talking in a strict and almost scary manner, “Minho the reason I brought you here was to charm the daughters of potential partners not to charm the son of our rivals,” he all but spat out, “I want you to go over there and ask the daughter of the Shin family to dance, now.” </p>
<p>Minho sighed, “okay father but I won’t be rude to Jisung, I will tell him first that I am going to dance.”</p>
<p>The boy’s father huffed, “do whatever you like, I don’t care but if I don’t see you dancing with that girl within the next two minutes then there will be serious consequences.”</p>
<p>The man stormed away leaving an annoyed Minho behind. He made his way back to Jisung and begrudgingly told the boy that he would have to dance with the Shin’s daughter before he could continue with their conversation. Jisung only laughed before telling him to ‘go and get it over with’.</p>
<p>Minho decided to do just that as he approached the girl and introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Lee Minho, I was wondering if you would like to dance with me?” he asked kindly. No matter how kind and warm Minho knew he looked on the outside, he couldn’t quash his inner dialogue that was screaming at him about how wrong this was and how he felt like he was in some gross 1700’s novel. </p>
<p>The girl noticeably glanced at her parents who nodded eagerly before she accepted his request and they walked on to the dance floor. </p>
<p>“So, what’s your name?” Minho asked her whilst attempting to use every bit of charm he possibly had.</p>
<p>“Shin Ryujin,” she replied so bluntly that Minho was almost taken aback, “please can I stop this here before this gets weird and tell you that I’m a lesbian.”</p>
<p>Minho felt like he’d hit the jackpot, “that’s great this could’ve got really awkward because I’m gay and I just had to leave a boy I like because my dad forced me to dance with you.”</p>
<p>Ryujin’s expression instantly changed and she let out a loud laugh, “that’s brilliant, maybe we can use each other for cover every time we meet at these kind of things, I’ve just got to make sure my girlfriend doesn’t find out I’m dating a boy, not that I could ever bring her along to these things anyway.”</p>
<p>“Do your parents know you have a girlfriend?” Minho asked and Ryujin laughed.</p>
<p>“Knowing and accepting are two different things,” she explained, “do your parents know you’re gay?”</p>
<p>“I think my mom suspects that I am, as for my father he’s completely clueless,” the boy laughed although Ryujin seemed as if her full attention wasn’t on him anymore. </p>
<p>“You know you said you liked a boy, is it the brown haired guy with the black suit over there because he’s staring at us and he looks kinda upset,” she spoke and Minho whipped his head around to see that she was staring at Jisung. The boy did, indeed, look upset and Minho attributed this to the fact that their conversation had been cut brutally short by his father.</p>
<p>“Do you want to come and join us? That might please both of our parents,” Minho laughed and Ryujin nodded before they both began walking in Jisung’s direction.</p>
<p>They sat down at the table and Ryujin immediately stuck her hand out to Jisung, “hi I’m Shin Ryujin, it’s nice to meet you.”</p>
<p>“I’m Han Jisung and you too,” Jisung smiled politely although he still looked mildly uncomfortable. </p>
<p>“I can’t believe we’ve formed a I’m gay but my parents want me to marry someone who would make a good business partner allicance,” Minho spoke out suddenly before the two others burst out laughing at his statement. </p>
<p>“You too?” Jisung asked seeming immediately more at ease. </p>
<p>“Yes, lets just say my girlfriend is not seen as an ideal match for me at all.” Ryujin smiled but it was a smile full of sad acceptance rather than bright happiness.</p>
<p>“Well at least we’ve all got someone we can relate to now,” the oldest pointed out making the two others nod in agreement. </p>
<p>Their conversation continued for almost half an hour after that, they talked about their families lack of acceptance and how hard they find it to make friends. Minho felt as if he had never related to two people more in his entire life than he related to Jisung and Ryujin. </p>
<p>It was only as people began leaving and the lights turned back on did their conversation finally come to an end. Ryujin was pulled away by her parents but not before giving both Minho and Jisung her phone number and making them swear to make a group chat. The oldest simply rolled his eyes playfully which earned him a light hit on the shoulder from Ryujin and a promise of, “I’ll hit you harder at the next event if you don’t make one.” </p>
<p>In the end though, Jisung and Minho were left alone again. Their respective parents were off in other rooms talking about deals with their partners and as the two boys waited for another half an hour, they were the only two left in the hall other than the cleaners. </p>
<p>“This was not what I expected from tonight,” Jisung yawned as he rested his elbows on the table and placed his chin on his hands. </p>
<p>“Me either,” Minho replied honestly, “I didn’t really know what I expected would happen.”</p>
<p>“I thought you’d be the worst person I’d ever meet in my life,” Jisung admitted and from his own experiences of what Minho’s parents had told him about Jisung, the older boy could hardly say he was surprised.</p>
<p>“Same here,” Minho spoke, “I did kind of hope you would be more like me though, I’ve always wanted a friend.”</p>
<p>“I hoped for that too,” Jisung laughed quietly, “that’s why I let you in on my private instagram, you do realise that my only followers are you and two of my cousins right?” </p>
<p>“No I didn’t realise and I beat you there, you are literally my only follower,” Minho laughed loudly.</p>
<p>“Why do you even post then?” Jisung giggled.</p>
<p>“It gives me a sense of normality I guess, like that’s what normal people my age are doing and if I’m doing that I can pretend I’m like them,” the Lee heir faltered for a second, “plus you like all my posts.”</p>
<p>“I do,” Jisung laughed, “it’s because you’re so pretty,” he blurted out and Minho flushes a deep red.</p>
<p>“That’s why I like all of your posts too,” Minho admitted. </p>
<p>“That makes us equal then,” Jisung spoke.</p>
<p>When their parents finally walked back into the room, rather than feeling excited that he finally got to go home and to bed, Minho was struck with a sudden sadness. There was no telling when he would meet with Jisung again and the fact that they were sworn enemies from birth only made arranging a place to meet up so much harder. If ever his father found out that the two boys were friends, Minho couldn’t even begin to think what the consequences would be.</p>
<p>As the Han family stood up to leave, Jisung offered Minho a warm smile, “nice talking with you Lee Minho,” he addressed him and Minho bit back a laugh. </p>
<p>“You too Han Jisung,” he smiled probably too widely but the feeling of immense happiness was far too much for him to be able to fight it back.</p>
<p>“Shall we leave then?” he father asked as soon as the Han’s had made their way out. </p>
<p>“Okay,” Minho replied simply with his eyes still locked on to the door that Jisung had just walked out of. </p>
<p>The boy had been infinitely better than he was expecting and infinitely better than even the Han Jisung that had appeared in his dreams. For one of the first times that Minho could remember, he felt a feeling of warmth inside him that he could only call true happiness.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>tysm for reading this chapter!! i hope you enjoyed it &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. four -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minho decided that eating desserts with Jisung sounded much more appealing than simply day dreaming about him.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t easy for Minho to focus on his dance practice the next day when the blinding brightness of Han Jisung’s smile was imprinted in his brain more than the choreography he was learning. Day dreaming of the beautiful boy’s face seemed much more appealing to Minho at that moment than going over the same tiring routine another 20 times. Regardless, the dancer was easily side tracked from both tasks by the ping of his phone coming from his bag. </p>
<p>Displayed on his screen was a message from an unknown number simply reading ‘my gf just saw both of you in the studio she works at ??’ Minho assumed that the message must be from Ryujin.</p>
<p>‘What do you mean both of us ??’ he fired back feeling confused at what she had said.</p>
<p>‘You’re in the dance studio and Jisung is in the music studios’ came the reply and Minho instantly felt a renewed sense of energy. He and Jisung were in the same building?</p>
<p>‘Wait? Minho and I are in the same building’ was the next message to appear in the chat.</p>
<p>‘Yes? That’s exactly what I said?’ Ryujin had responded and Minho could almost hear her fake annoyance through the words.</p>
<p>‘Whatever both of you stop being dumb in separate rooms and come and meet me in the dessert shop next door, I have a private room and my gf just got off work &lt;3’ Ryujin sent next and Minho decided that eating desserts with Jisung sounded much more appealing than simply day dreaming about him.</p>
<p>Both boys confirmed that they would be there soon and Minho could barely contain his excitement at the fact that he got to meet up with Jisung after less than a day apart. The older could simply not get enough of the younger boy, Jisung was like that one song that Minho loved so much it never became overplayed, he was a dance Minho could perform so many times but he would never get bored of, he was extraordinary. The dancer didn’t care that he’d only known Jisung a day, the prospect of having an actual friend (or even more!) who didn’t just want him for his money was too exciting to resist. </p>
<p>Minho reached the dessert shop in what seemed like a record time but when he was ushered into the private room, he saw Jisung already sat next to an empty seat. “Hey sorry I took so long,” he greeted the group.</p>
<p>“It’s okay you didn’t,” Ryujin spoke, “Jisung just ran here so quickly I’m surprised he didn’t break a sprinting world record or something.”</p>
<p>“I’m more likely to break a leg,” Jisung laughed quietly. </p>
<p>“Anyway,” Ryujin giggled, “I’m honoured to introduce you to my girlfriend, this is Yeji,” she grinned. </p>
<p>Minho finally looked at the girl sat next to his friend and despite him being completely and utterly gay, he could see why Ryujin was so smitten with the girl. Minho knew little more of Yeji than the fact that she was always polite and kind to him when he checked into the dance studios yet she was undeniably beautiful and Ryujin looked to her as if she had single handedly hung the stars in the sky. He hoped that someday someone would look at him in that way too.</p>
<p>“It’s a pleasure to meet you properly,” Minho greeted her with a smile. </p>
<p>“You too!” she spoke back, “I see you all the time but I guess I never really knew you until now.”</p>
<p>After introductions, their conversation sprung up naturally. Ryujin spoke of how she and Yeji had met at a food festival in town and how they had both been alone and agreed to walk around together. Minho spoke of how he was happy to have their ‘gay alliance’ group now because he had never had many friends. Jisung spoke very little but it was obvious that he was fully comfortable simply listening to everyone else’s stories. </p>
<p>Sat back in his chair, Minho thought Jisung looked happier than he had ever appeared in any of the photos the older had seen him in. From his instagram posts, Minho assumed that Jisung lived the perfect lifestyle, he seemed confident and like he had infinite amounts of friends and people wanting to be with him but the older was almost glad to find out that Jisung wasn’t like that. Perhaps it was their similarities that had brought them this close even after having only known each other one day, or maybe it was Minho’s blatant attempts to break the ice quickly due to his huge crush on the boy, but whatever it was it had worked. The two boys all but forgot about the existence of the girls across from them as they talked about anything and everything. </p>
<p>“No! I did that too!” Minho had exclaimed excitedly as Jisung finished retelling the story of how he fell in his pool. The boys were apparently alike in every way even in their tendency to be clumsy and fall over their own feet. </p>
<p>The conversation between the two was only interrupted by Ryujin clearing her throat and Minho turned his head to look at the two girls who sat at the other side of the table. Knowing smiles were painted over their faces and Minho couldn’t really think of why but regardless they looked fond and happy so there was no need to complain. </p>
<p>Desserts arrived soon afterward and Minho and Jisung quickly discovered that each other’s sundaes were much more exciting than the ones they had ordered themselves. When Jisung kept dipping his spoon into Minho’s ice cream the older didn’t mind one bit, if anything he felt his heart beating fast as he observed the younger boy storing the food in his cheeks and happily chewing on the pieces of cookie dough. Jisung was positively the cutest thing Minho had ever seen and the dancer never wanted to look away. </p>
<p>However, good things always quickly came to an end and Minho knew this well so it didn’t surprise him when Jisung announced that he needed to leave not even 5 minutes after they finished eating. The three others sent the boy off with warm smiles and a promise to meet up again, Minho found himself watching his back as the boy padded down the road. It didn’t even take a second for Ryujin and Yeji to turn their attention to him and Jisung rounded the corner.</p>
<p>“So how long have you liked Jisung?” Ryujin asked with a smirk as soon as the younger boy was finally out of view and Minho finally looked away.</p>
<p>“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he lied blatantly.</p>
<p>“Sure, Yeji even thought you were boyfriends,” she laughed and Yeji nodded shyly.</p>
<p>“The look in both of your eyes spoke for itself,” the older girl grinned, “but I guess you haven’t figured that out yet or maybe Ryujin and I see it more because we know what it’s like?”</p>
<p>“Yeah maybe that’s it,” Minho agreed with a nod before even realising what he’d said, “wait-“ he countered quickly.</p>
<p>“You agreed to it!” Ryujin all but yelled, “I don’t even know why I’m excited because it was so so obvious but you agreed to it!” </p>
<p>“Fine I do like him,” Minho admitted albeit begrudgingly.</p>
<p>“Did you like him from the dinner or did you know each other before?” Ryujin asked with a spark of curiosity in her waiting eyes.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know him before but I followed his private instagram so I knew I was physically attracted to him,” the boy started, “I guess I was always curious about his personality.”</p>
<p>“Why’s that?” Ryujin spoke again.</p>
<p>“Well we’re supposed to hate each other right? I never did hate him though, I guess I always kinda wished he was like me,” Minho almost trailed off, “I wished he was just searching for a friend in the midst of all of this money and status.”</p>
<p>“Why is that the cutest thing I’ve ever heard?” Yeji pouted cutely. </p>
<p>“I know!” Ryujin agreed with a bright smile, “I don’t think you need to worry about him liking you back anyway, he looks at you like you’re the best thing to ever happen to him.”</p>
<p>“He does?” Minho questioned.</p>
<p>“Yeah and if I’m honest, you could well be the best thing to happen to him, his family and my family have met before and he was so shy and it seemed like he was scared of everyone in the room. I’m glad you’ve been able to open his shell and let him be the person he really is when he’s with you, especially as you haven’t known each other that long. You could well be perfect for each other,” Ryujin offered a genuine smile.</p>
<p>“I really hope we are perfect for each other,” Minho admitted. He kept his next thought firmly locked in his mind. It was true though, the thought of being perfect for Jisung sounded like the best thing in the world.</p>
<p>They said their goodbyes not long after. Minho left the shop with the thought of Jisung’s bright eyes and chubby cheeks fresh in his mind. Considering just a few days ago, Jisung was nothing more than an interesting side character in the story of Minho’s life, the older would be lying if he said the impact the younger had on his life wasn’t astronomical. Jisung was his every thought, he consumed Minho’s mind constantly but the dancer couldn’t bring himself to care. Thinking of Jisung was quickly becoming his new favourite past time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>tysm for reading this chapter!! i really really hope you enjoyed it &lt;33</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. five -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>At least he knew, that if in some crazy world, Jisung liked him back, there would be at least one person who would support him unconditionally.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day in Minho’s house was so bad the only thing Minho could liken it to was hell itself. In actuality, the incident that had caused his father’s anger didn’t seem like that big of a deal. Sure, Minho could understand his father’s frustration but the deal he had lost out on was hardly a big one. In fact, Minho’s father had streets of deals lined up for his company and all he had to do to secure them was to sign his name however, ever since the dinner, he had only seemed bothered about this particular one.</p>
<p>It was evident enough why, the deal had been lost to the Han’s. Minho almost scoffed aloud just thinking about it. Of course, this didn’t justify his father’s actions, Mr Lee was nothing if not highly dramatic. He had just finished placing a maid on disciplinary for incorrectly positioning the cutlery when Minho called Jisung to rant.</p>
<p>“He’s being ridiculous,” Minho complained down the phone to Jisung who was completely empathetic considering he’d been in the same situation himself just a few days before. </p>
<p>It had been almost a week since they visited the dessert shop with Ryujin and to say that things had changed for both of them since then would be an understatement. They called each other every night simply to complain about their respective father’s. The fact that they had father’s who cared little for them seemed to be just another addition to their infinitely long list of things in common. </p>
<p>“I know,” the younger spoke solemnly, “my dad gave me this big lecture about how gross your family are.”</p>
<p>Minho giggled lightly, “I feel like my dad will end up lecturing me too.”</p>
<p>The second he spoke, he heard his dad calling for him from down the hallway, “I can hear him down the phone,” Jisung commented, “I think you jinxed it.”</p>
<p>“I really don’t wanna go and talk to him,” Minho whined and Jisung just laughed.</p>
<p>“Just don’t listen to him when he tells you I’m the devil in his human form,” the younger joked.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, I’m 99% sure that he’s the one who’s actually the devil in human form.”</p>
<p>After Minho spoke, the two boys bid their farewells and the older boy rolled his eyes before walking towards his father’s office. He pushed the door open gently and shut it behind him before his father spoke in a sour tone, “nice of you to finally join me.”</p>
<p>“I was talking to a friend,” Minho said cooly and his father chuckled softly.</p>
<p>“A friend?” he asked in cold disbelief, “since when have you had friends to talk to?” </p>
<p>The Lee heir was barely surprised by his father’s cool words and he quickly formulated a lie, “I was talking to Ryujin,” he replied flatly.</p>
<p>“A girl?” </p>
<p>“The daughter of Mr Shin who you asked me to dance with.”</p>
<p>“That’s the first good news I’ve had today,” the man spoke and Minho internally smirked. Usually he wouldn’t have lied but he really couldn’t be bothered with his father’s wrath today so instead he decided he could afford to lie just once.</p>
<p>“I’ve got something more important I need to ask you about today,” his father continued speaking which knocked Minho from his smug state.</p>
<p>“And what is that?” he asked.</p>
<p>Mr Lee only scowled at the interruption before continuing, “I noticed you speaking to Han Jisung a lot at the dinner recently, I want to know the details of your conversation and what deals you spoke of.”</p>
<p>“Deals?” Minho asked baffled, “we didn’t talk about deals?”</p>
<p>“You don’t need to lie to me Minho, the two of you have nothing in common I cannot see what else you could’ve been talking about,” Mr Lee frowned.</p>
<p>“You obviously don’t know either of us well, we had a normal conversation and all we talked of business was our dislike of it, if that’s all that you have to ask me I will be leaving,” Minho seethed and placed his hand on the door handle ready to leave.</p>
<p>“Don’t you dare step out of this room.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know what else you have to say to me but I really don’t want to hear your lecture about how Jisung is a bad person,” Minho scowled bravely.</p>
<p>“So you’re on a first name basis now?” His father spoke bitterly with a hint of cold humour in his voice.</p>
<p>“And what if we are?” Minho spat.</p>
<p>“Minho you don’t know the boy like I do, you don’t know the true intentions that family have. Your friendship will be nothing more than a means to an end to him and you’re foolish if you think anything else.”</p>
<p>“Is that true for me too then? His father told him the exact same about me yesterday but I don’t see his friendship as a means to an end. You told me he was big-headed and brash when really he is humble and shy, you told me he was a snob and looked at everyone he met as lesser but in reality he was afraid of speaking to me in fear that I would be like that. What other lies have you told me about him,” Minho spoke with an icy calm voice.</p>
<p>“If that’s your honest opinion on the boy then you’re so wrong,” his father seethed back cruelly. </p>
<p>“I have nothing else to say to you because you are so blinded by your hatred for his father that you won’t even allow your son his first ever true friend,” Minho spat in a fiery tone before leaving the room.</p>
<p>After slamming the door behind him, he made his way into the living room before dropping down onto the sofa and taking a deep, long breath. He knew his father would never be fond of the friendship he had formed with Jisung and honestly, he hadn’t wanted to tell the man about it in the first place. Yet, the insane annoyance and anger that had swept through his body when his father had spoke about Jisung like he was lesser and only good for business made Minho explode. </p>
<p>It took him a few minutes to calm himself down and those minutes were spent thinking of a boy who he had become so close to so quickly. Jisung was the first person that Minho had felt an unexplainable connection to and despite the heartbreak he had felt in the past where friends were concerned, he felt himself trust Jisung so easily. They were largely the same, after all, searching for someone like them, someone they could form a connection with and maybe it was the fact that they were supposed to hate each other that had bought them close but Minho didn’t care. Whatever had bought him close to Jisung was the best thing in the world.</p>
<p>“Minho,” came the soft voice of his mother to knock him from his thoughts, “what did he want?” she asked.</p>
<p>“Yelling at me because I’m friends with someone,” the boy spoke off-handedly.</p>
<p>“The usual then,” she scoffed, “he doesn’t yell at me for being friends with people but he doesn’t talk to me for a few days when I become too friendly with one of his rival’s wives.”</p>
<p>“That makes two of us then,” he breathed.</p>
<p>“Who’s your friend then,” she nudged his shoulder lightly with a bright smile on her face.</p>
<p>“Han Jisung,” he told her and felt his heart beat just a little faster as he spoke Jisung’s name. </p>
<p>“Ah, that’s why he’s so mad,” she laughed, “it’ll pass, if anything I think you two make a good pair and for what it’s worth his mother is really kind.”</p>
<p>“Thanks mom,” he smiled before pulling her into a hug. The support he got from his mom was like no other and he couldn’t possibly be more thankful for it. It seemed that there had been infinite times where he had considered telling her the darkest of his secrets. </p>
<p>His family still had no clue that he wasn’t the completely straight son his father had always wanted. Minho wouldn’t be surprised if his mother suspected that his feelings for Jisung surpassed that of simply a friend, yet he knew she would never bring it up which he was thankful for. At least he knew, that if in some crazy world, Jisung liked him back, there would be at least one person who would support him unconditionally.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading this chapter!! i hope you enjoyed it !!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. six -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minho had never seen himself more in someone than he did in Jisung.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Saturday morning arrived along with possibly the rudest awakening Minho had ever had. He couldn’t remember the last time his father had awoken him but judging by the way it happened that morning, the situation was probably so traumatic that it had left his mind. </p><p>The bright lights in his room had come on first with an aggressive click of the switch outside, then his door had flung open hitting the wall the other side because of the force. “Get up now, we have a dinner with the Han’s and one of our business partners today, you have to be there as the heir to the company and you will speak to Mr Hwang about the prospective deal. We cannot lose this,” his father had all but yelled before leaving the room abruptly. He left silence behind him that was only filled by Minho’s heavy breathing and his pure confusion.</p><p>After a few moments where the Lee heir simply sat in shock whilst trying to get his heartbeat down to a normal rate, he picked up his phone and sent a quick text to Jisung asking if he had any knowledge of the night’s event. The confirmation that this was a last minute plan came a few seconds later with Jisung just writing ‘I had no idea until 2 minutes ago.’</p><p>So to say Minho’s morning had been awful would be a huge understatement, it was positively one of the worst morning’s he’d ever had. Of course, there were small benefits to the dinner (seeing Jisung, talking to Jisung, staring at Jisung etc...) but after his conversation with his father just a few days ago, the boy wasn’t entirely sure that casual conversation would be possible.</p><p>When he sat for breakfast that morning with his mother, Minho was whining into his cereal almost ten times more than usual. “Why is it always the Han’s he competes with to get the deal?” he groaned, “why not the Kims or the Bangs? Even the Yangs? I like their son he’s cute and he always sings trot songs at our Christmas dinners.”</p><p>The woman next to him just shook her head fondly and smiled, “you get to see your friend more though if this deal goes through,” she pointed out.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Minho asked immediately as he all of a sudden felt a lot more open to the idea of the business deal going through.</p><p>“Didn’t your father tell you? He’s so annoyed because Mr Hwang wants the two companies to collaborate on the product,” she explained and suddenly his father’s blind rage made so much more sense, “he said the companies both have great ideas but they can become even more great if they work together.” </p><p>Minho scoffed, “doesn’t he know that dad and Mr Han are not the best of friends.”</p><p>“Of course he does,” she all but smirked, “don’t you think it will be funny to see them pretend to be friends tonight?”</p><p>Minho laughed for a short second, “I think it’s gonna be great.”</p><p>Despite his now excitement for the dinner, Minho spent quite possibly the longest time he’d ever taken to get ready. Luckily, he’d planned for the fact that it would take him double the time to choose clothes and apply his light makeup. Obviously, this difference was due to his want to impress Jisung but Minho’s self awareness had meant that he thankfully wasn’t late. Yet, his father was still far from impressed when his son walked down the stairs in tight black trousers with a black shirt and black jacket.</p><p>“Are you going to a funeral?” the man commented bewilderedly.</p><p>Minho looked down at his outfit and shrugged, “would I be wearing pink lip gloss and sparkly earrings if I was going to a funeral?” he questioned.</p><p>The room was plunged into silence for a few seconds before Mr Lee sighed loudly in response and left the room with a shout of, “just do what you want.” The dancer looked towards his mother across the room and she just shrugged lightly.</p><p>“I think you look nice, I’m sure Jisung will think so too.”</p><p>Minho had never blushed a darker red.</p><p>They didn’t travel with their usual driver that night. Mr Hwang was the owner of a multinational car company so it was only natural that he sent a car to collect the family. In fact, Minho knew little else about the Hwang’s other than the fact that they had a son around his age.  </p><p>Hwang Hyunjin was nothing if not elusive, Minho could’ve walked past him in the street and not known who he was. It was certain that he would not be meeting the boy that night, the Lee’s had been to dinners at the Hwang’s house every 3 months since Minho could remember and never once had he seen the boy.</p><p>Besides, it’s not like it mattered. Minho wasn’t sure that the son of someone like Mr Hwang could be a good person anyway, at best he was a tyrant so the Lee heir held out very little hope that the elusive Hwang Hyunjin would be different. </p><p>When the Lee family finally arrived at the house, Minho was barely surprised to be greeted by a whole host of the Hwang’s house staff ready to take their coats and escort them inside. It made him feel awkward really, the maids they had in their house were few and their only duties were to clean and even then Minho found himself helping them out when he got bored. Of course, he knew that that was their job and they were paid to do it but he was the one who had made the mess most of the time and it only seemed fair that he should clean it up.</p><p>Mr Hwang spoke as soon as they made their way into the dining room, he came across almost too friendly and to Minho that just made him all the more terrifying, “ah Lee please take a seat next to me across from Han here and Minho, it’s lovely to see you if you wouldn’t mind taking a seat across from Jisung just next to your mother,” he motioned to the seat.</p><p>The second Minho sat down he felt Jisung’s shoe softly kicking at his leg to get his attention. Raising his head immediately, Minho saw a bright smile on Jisung’s face and if it caused the older boy’s heart to beat a little faster in chest then no one needed to know.</p><p>It continued like this for a while. The two boys seemed to be able to amuse each other without even speaking. Whether they were kicking each other under the table (Minho was sure that he kicked his mother but she didn’t say anything) or whether they were pulling weird faces at each other behind their father’s backs as they spoke, it didn’t matter. Jisung’s smile after every strange face that Minho pulled made even the most daring of risks seem worth taking.</p><p>Yet, like always, good things have to come to an end and Minho witnessed this first hand when his father turned to him and both he and Mr Hwang glanced expectantly at him. “What are your future plans Minho?”</p><p>It caught him off guard.</p><p>He’d thought about it, who hadn’t? If he was allowed to follow his passion, Minho would already be in a dance group somewhere or maybe he’d have even become an idol. He could’ve been touring the world by now, dancing and performing before thousands of adoring fans and living the life of his dreams. Instead he was in the present, staring at the stony face of Mr Hwang who had had to wait a second too long for Minho’s obviously rehearsed and blatantly false answer.</p><p>“After my gap year this year, I’ll be going to university and studying business with international relations. I intend to work my way up the business like any other employee would until it’s time for it to be passed down to me,” the boy smiled kindly as he lied through his teeth. </p><p>“And you Jisung? What do you intend to do?” Mr Hwang turned his attention to the younger boy. </p><p>“Largely the same,” Jisung spoke confidently but with a tone that Minho had never heard from him before, “it is my dream to study abroad maybe in the UK but I will study business, I also wish to work my way up the company to know the employees and the company itself through and through before I take it over.”</p><p>The dancer was shocked by Jisung’s confidence but with the grimace the boy shot him only seconds after, it was easy to see that this was a facade. Minho knew it all too well, the fake it until you make it mentality, and he knew that Jisung knew he could see right through his act too. It was another thing that made the boys so close, their similarities meaning that they knew almost everything about each other without even trying. Minho had never seen himself more in someone than he did in Jisung.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi!!! i really really hope you enjoyed this chapter!!!! </p><p>i’m gonna be updating a day early next week because i’m dedicating 90% of my time to streaming when in life drops sldjkd &lt;33 </p><p>tysm for reading this it means so so so so so so much !!!!!!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. seven -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jisung fit into Minho’s life like the puzzle piece he had been missing.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The night seemed like it was never going to come to an end. Jisung and Minho has been abandoned by both of their parents and Mr Hwang while they negotiated. Instead of being involved, as their fathers had told them they would be, the two boys were just sat in the dining room having their own ‘negotiations.’</p><p>“I’m not taking you to an ice cream shop if you’re gonna eat mint ice cream, I will refuse to be seen with you if you have that,” Jisung spoke with fire and resolution in his voice. </p><p>“But what if I had one scoop vanilla and one scoop mint?” Minho pleaded, “then it wouldn’t mean I was having mint ice cream, I would be having vanilla and mint.”</p><p>“It’s still mint!” Jisung practically yelled.</p><p>At that moment, Minho’s mother walked into the room looking considerably stressed and tired. The older boy stood up immediately and walked to his mom’s side, “are you okay?” he asked her in a concerned tone.</p><p>“I’m fine,” she lied but Minho didn’t have the heart to question her, “your father is not so fine and I think he will most likely be sleeping in the hotel next door, he won’t make it home I think he’s about to pass out.”</p><p>“It’s that bad?” Minho questioned and she just nodded.</p><p>She just nodded, “you know what Mr Hwang is like.”</p><p>Minho did, of course, know what Mr Hwang was like and after this explanation he didn’t even feel the need to question her further. </p><p>“Is my mom okay?” Jisung’s small voice cut through the short silence that had swarmed the room.</p><p>“She’s fine sweetie, your parents are fairing much better than I and Minho’s father are,” she laughed almost bitterly but her words were obviously meant to calm the younger boy.</p><p>“So are we gonna be sat out here all night?” Minho asked her then and she shook her head.</p><p>“Your father won’t be too pleased with this but I don’t see the problem, Mr Hwang has called the driver for you, Minho take Jisung back to our house and have a sleepover or something, there’s no need for you to be alone and worrying about us,” she smiled. </p><p>“Oh, thank you for letting me stay at your house Mrs Lee,” Jisung spoke first before Minho could even process the situation. </p><p>“Thank you mom,” he said after a while and she threw him a warm but knowing smile. </p><p>The two boys left soon after and giggled like a newly married couple as they climbed into the back of the car. It felt like they were breaking the rules and maybe they were, if Minho’s father had known that a Han was in his house, the boy doubted he’d ever go in there again.</p><p>Throughout the car journey, they excitedly planned their night. There was no way they would actually get any sleep, that much was a given, they planned building a fort, making pancakes in the kitchen and literally anything they could think of. Honestly, Minho didn’t really care what they did as long as he was with Jisung. </p><p>They arrived quickly and both thanked the driver before heading into the house. Jisung seemed shy before Minho assured him there was no one else there but them at this time of night and at that, the younger boy seemed to calm down.</p><p>“I’ll go and get blankets and stuff for the fort,” Minho spoke first as they entered the living room, “you can just sit on the sofa or whatever, I won’t take long.”</p><p>The older rushed from the room and up the stairs to collect the blankets, he never wanted Jisung to feel awkward around him so he hoped that building a fort would get rid of any awkwardness immediately. Of course, they were alone together a lot but this time it was different. They were entirely alone, in Minho’s house and the older boy’s crush on Jisung really wasn’t getting any smaller.</p><p>Every smile from Jisung hit straight into Minho’s heart like an arrow sent by cupid himself. The boy’s laugh sounded like that of an angel, his eyes shone like galaxies in the night sky, his cheeks looked plush like the softest of blankets and Minho liked him so much. It almost hurt whenever he looked at Jisung.</p><p>He made it back into the living room quickly and saw Jisung’s wide eyes staring at him and the huge pile of cushions and blankets he was holding in his arms. “I grabbed everything I could find,” Minho spoke in an attempt to explain himself.</p><p>“I can see that,” Jisung laughed as he stood up to take some of the pile from the older boy. Minho just laughed upon seeing Jisung almost buried under the mass of thick blankets.</p><p>They got to work almost immediately. Minho used clothing pegs to attach the blankets to the back of the sofa and Jisung attached the other side to the bottom of the coffee table. They repeated the process with about three blankets before Minho poked his head inside and realised it was completely dark.</p><p>“We have a slight problem,” he admitted as he pulled his head from under the mass of blankets.</p><p>“What’s wrong? Isn’t it big enough?” the younger questioned. The older shook his head.</p><p>“It’s completely dark in there,” Minho laughed.</p><p>“Oh my God,” Jisung groaned, “the way we didn’t even think of that.”</p><p>“Minsung dumb,” Minho spoke under his breath as he tried to think of a solution for their dilemma. </p><p>“Who?” Jisung giggled softly, “Minsung?” he asked with a smirk on his lips.</p><p>“I put our names together,” Minho explained nonchalantly as if he wasn’t internally screaming at a frequency high enough to shatter glass. </p><p>“That’s our ship name,” Jisung tossed Minho a wide eyed bright smile and the other boy felt his heart flutter in his chest. Jisung could do the bare minimum and still earn this reaction from Minho, everything he did caused butterflies to swarm in Minho’s stomach. </p><p>After momentarily malfunctioning, Minho finally found himself able to reply, “I guess it is,” he stated simply. The sudden urge to slap himself was extremely strong. </p><p>“Just don’t tell Ryujin that,” Jisung laughed and Minho nodded along with him. </p><p>They sat again in silence for a second whilst once again trying to think of a solution for their dark fort. “I’ve got fairy lights,” Minho spoke after a second, “but you have to plug them in.”</p><p>“Don’t you have an extension wire?” Jisung asked him and Minho nodded.</p><p>“Stop being smart you’re making me look bad,” Minho pouted jokingly.</p><p>“How about you stop being a baby and go and get the fairy lights so we can cuddle in our fort,” Jisung responded.</p><p>Minho had never (and doubted he ever would again) move faster than he did then. The lights were in his hands and he was back down the stairs plugging them in and hanging them up in what seemed like no time at all. An offer of cuddling with Jisung underneath some fairy lights and a pile of blankets in a fort they’d created together was just too good to pass up. For what felt like the 30,000th time that night, Minho felt his heart soar again.</p><p>True to the younger’s promise, the two boys did end up cuddling in their fort. They finished the night with Jisung sat between Minho’s legs with his back resting on the older’s chest. Minho softly ran his fingers through the younger’s hair as he realised that Jisung had fell asleep. In that moment Minho could pretend they were together, he looked down at Jisung’s closed eyes and smiled softly. Jisung looked positively adorable and Minho would make it his mission to protect the boy from anything bad in the world. </p><p>Minho fell asleep not that long afterwards and both boys simply rested in the safety of each other’s presence for a while. It was almost bizarre how quickly they had become so close. Jisung fit into Minho’s life like the puzzle piece he had been missing, he filled the empty space that had been carved by Namwoon and Minho was so thankful for that.</p><p>Even as they slept, the older boy instinctively held Jisung close to him both to protect him and to be sure he wouldn’t leave. Not that Jisung would’ve considered leaving anyway. It would be a lie to say that the younger didn’t also feel his heart flutter when he awoke the next morning to find himself wrapped tightly in Minho’s arms with his head resting on the older’s chest. </p><p>Rather than waking Minho and spoiling the moment, Jisung just snuggled closer and basked in the warmth of the fort. Everything was so beautifully perfect and Jisung could easily add that moment to the list of the best things he had ever experienced. He smiled softly and quickly glanced up at Minho’s face before falling back into a peaceful sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>tysm for reading this chapter!! and to everyone who sees this now i really hope you enjoy the comeback tomorrow!! i just think that back door soty !! &lt;3 ty !!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. eight -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Even simple things sent Minho wild, Jisung squeezing his hand lightly as a way of saying goodbye, Jisung laughing after Minho questioned him and asked him why he couldn’t just say goodbye like a normal person, the shy smile that came on to Jisung’s face when Minho joked that Jisung had just wanted an excuse to hold his hand...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning began with an abrupt awakening by the shrill ringing of the house phone from in the hall. Jisung was evidentially still half awake as he rolled over to allow Minho to move and answer it. Despite lacking the energy, Minho stood up and walked to the hall where he answered the phone as usual.</p><p>“Hello the Lee residence, this is Lee Minho speaking,” he spoke as politely as possible whilst hoping that his sleepiness wasn’t too noticeable in his tone. </p><p>“Why don’t you ever answer your phone?” he heard his mother’s exhausted sounding voice coming from the other end of the line.</p><p>“I’m sorry it’s on silent,” Minho replied as he simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. </p><p>“Whatever it doesn’t matter, your father and I are leaving in an hour, Jisung needs to be gone along with any trace he was ever there do you understand me?” she asked.</p><p>“Yeah,” he answered sadly, “I’ll go and get him up now, thanks for letting us know mom.”</p><p>“It’s no problem and don’t be upset Minho, I’m sure you had a nice time last night and why don’t you take him out to breakfast or something?” she suggested and Minho instantly felt his mood lift.</p><p>“That’s a great idea, thanks mom!” He grinned and spoke enthusiastically.</p><p>“Okay, I’ll see you later then,” his mom replies before he too bid his farewell and put the phone down.</p><p>Just before he turned around, Minho heard Jisung’s footsteps as he made his way to join Minho in the hallway. “Who was it?” The younger asked curiously.</p><p>“Just my mom,” Minho ruffled his messy hair with a slight chuckle, “they’ll be back soon so I’m taking you out for breakfast.”</p><p>The younger boy gave Minho a bright smile as he nodded happily, “that sounds good!” He seemed to think for a moment before continuing, “do you have any clothes I can borrow, these got really creased because I slept in them,” he explained. </p><p>“Yeah I’ll find you something, come upstairs with me and see what you want,” Minho held his hand out without really thinking about it. After noticing what he’d done, the boy blushed a deep red but it appeared that Jisung barely even noticed as he hardly missed a second before taking Minho’s hand and letting the older boy pull him up the stairs. </p><p>Minho was sure to let go as they headed into his room yet despite no longer having Jisung’s hand encased in his own, the boy still couldn’t slow his heart beat. “Uh,” he began as he started to sift through the clothes in his wardrobe, “how about this?” Minho asked as he pulled out his favourite shirt.</p><p>Jisung’s eyes seemed to light up as he eyed it and he looked back towards Minho, “isn’t this the one you’re always wearing in your instagram posts?” he asked.</p><p>“Yeah, you noticed that?” Minho asked and Jisung just nodded but it was clear that he was slightly embarrassed and maybe he’d told Minho a bit more information than he intended to. Regardless, he took the shirt and the other clothes that Minho had found for him and walked into the bathroom to change. The older boy too took this opportunity to get dressed into the best outfit he could possibly find in 5 minutes.</p><p>However, Minho didn’t even think that him having 3 hours to dress himself would be enough for him to outdo Jisung that day. When the younger boy stepped out of the bathroom, Minho felt his heart jump into his throat. Han Jisung was stood before him wearing a tight black shirt and tight black skinny jeans and not any tight black shirt and skinny jeans but Minho’s own tight black shirt and skinny jeans.</p><p>“Do I look okay? Or is it weird? Is that why you’re looking at me?” Jisung asked and Minho began to panic internally a little more.</p><p>“No you look great, that’s why I was looking, you don’t look weird at all,” the older replied as he had to, for the second time, stop himself from kissing Jisung there and then.</p><p>“Thank God, I thought I looked stupid,” the younger just giggled before opening the door and turning back to Minho who was still in a crisis because ‘have Jisung’s arms always been that muscular?’</p><p>“Minho? Are we going,” Jisung had to speak again to knock his admirer out of his trance. When Minho finally did come back to Earth, he walked behind Jisung as they padded back down the stairs, picked up their bags and slipped their shoes on before beginning the walk to find something to eat. </p><p>Considering the fact that they never did get to make their own pancakes, Minho thought it might be a good idea to take Jisung to his favourite pancake house. He knew all about the boy’s love for sweet foods so he was hardly surprised when Jisung requested ‘huge amounts of syrup please’ and the waitress honoured his request by bringing him a whole bottle.</p><p>“Do you really need that much?” Minho had asked him after the younger poured a way overly generous amount on his pancakes, “can you even taste the actual pancake?”</p><p>“Of course you can!” Jisung defended himself, “I’ll cut you a bit and you can try it!”</p><p>“No thanks, I value my teeth,” Minho spoke back causing the younger to laugh loudly and almost choke on the water he had been drinking.</p><p>“Do you know who you remind me of?” the older had asked after a few seconds and Jisung had simply shook his head.</p><p>“Elf,” Minho told him and Jisung turned his head a little in confusion.</p><p>“Who’s Elf?” he asked.</p><p>“He’s an Elf,” Minho replied, not quite believing that Jisung didn’t know what he was talking about. </p><p>“What’s he from?” the younger pressed.</p><p>“Elf,” Minho spoke after a moment.</p><p>“Elf from Elf?” Jisung questioned him in bewilderment.</p><p>“Yes Elf from Elf? I can’t believe you’ve never watched Elf! My family watch it every year on Christmas Eve it’s like tradition,” the older spoke and almost sounded genuinely offended by Jisung’s viewing habits.</p><p>“Well maybe we can watch it together on Christmas Eve Eve this year,” the younger commented and Minho felt his words go straight to his heart. Jisung wanted to experience things with him, he wanted to watch movies with him, he wanted to be friends even 5 months away at Christmas. The joy that overtook Minho when thinking about the fact that Jisung likes spending time with him as much as he did with Jisung himself was simply huge. Minho had been searching for someone he could call a true friend his entire life and he thought then that maybe he’d got lucky, maybe he’d found that in Jisung and maybe, or rather hopefully, he’d found a little bit more.</p><p>When they left the pancake house and Minho walked Jisung half of the way home, everything felt right in the world. Whether Jisung knew it or not, he was fast becoming a permanent fixture in Minho’s life and the older boy couldn’t be more happy about that fact. Even simple things sent Minho wild, Jisung squeezing his hand lightly as a way of saying goodbye, Jisung laughing after Minho questioned him and asked him why he couldn’t just say goodbye like a normal person, the shy smile that came on to Jisung’s face when Minho joked that Jisung had just wanted an excuse to hold his hand. The younger boy was adorable and Minho felt the urge to love and protect him. </p><p>The world of business was notoriously cruel and despite the stoic ‘game face’ that Jisung had shown to Mr Hwang, Minho knew that the boys’ true personality couldn’t be more different. Jisung was fragile with soft edges and throwing him into a world of business full of bitterness and arguments felt like it should be a crime. Besides, both boys knew that neither of them wanted it anyway, neither of them wanted to take over their families business because they had dreams of their own. Minho thought that Jisung deserved all of the freedom and happiness in the world and he would be damned if he wasn’t going to try everything to give it to him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry this chapter is late, i completely forgot about posting until like 3am</p><p>but tysm for reading this !!! i really hope you enjoyed it &lt;33</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. nine -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“So you like her?” Minho’s father pushed.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, Minho,” were the first words the boy heard from his father after arriving home from the pancake house, “how are things going with the girl you danced with at the dinner? She was the Shin heir correct?” he asked.</p><p>Minho scowled as he turned his back to hang up his coat but replaced his expression with a more kind one when he faced his father, “she’s a very good friend to me,” he spoke politely. </p><p>“You don’t need to say that with me,” his father protested, “after all I’m your father you’re supposed to confide these things in me, that’s what men do.” </p><p>Minho nearly scoffed. What did his father want him to say? The boy was certain that the man would explode if he knew the truth which was, of course, that Minho was harbouring strong feelings for the son of his mortal enemy Mr Han.</p><p>Obviously, he couldn’t tell him the truth and there was a reason why he and Ryujin had already formulated their plan. They weren’t going to fake date for their parents. That was something that both of them knew would inevitably ultimately end in disaster but they were simply going to give the illusion that they were interested. </p><p>It was simple enough to maintain. The closer they got as friends, the closer their parents would think they were. With both Yeji and Jisung in on the plan as well, it seemed almost 100% fool proof. </p><p>“We talk a lot,” Minho pasted a light smile on his face. The boy never confessed to being the finest actor ever but he was one hell of a liar. There were very few things that Lee Minho could not lie his way out of and questions from his dad about girls was definitely not one of them.</p><p>Whether it was practice or the fact that his answers were practically pre written for him, Minho seemed to be able to get his dad off his case in a matter of minutes.</p><p>“And what do you talk about?” Mr Lee had questioned his son further.</p><p>“Just normal things, we talk about dance and about people we know,” the son in question had answered and really this reply wasn’t a lie.</p><p>“So you like her?” Minho’s father pushed. </p><p>It took everything inside of Minho to fight back his eyes that were so ready to roll themselves at this question. Instead of answering, Minho only shrugged and turned on his heel before all but running to his bedroom.</p><p>Conversations with his dad were always a lot of work but conversations where his dad tried to push him into finding love were always 50 times worse. Minho had known from a young age that he never liked girls, it had been so evident even through the fact that his gaze always lingered on Troy Bolton a second longer than it ‘should’ve’ but he never did the same for Gabriella. Girls to Minho were ideal friends but they would never be lovers. </p><p>Honestly, he didn’t know what his dad thought of gay people but it really wasn’t like he wanted to find out. Of course, his mother was supportive but she was supportive of many things his father would never even consider, namely Minho’s friendship with Jisung. Whatever, the boy’s point still stood. He didn’t want to find out what his father’s opinion of gay people was for the fear that his father might just be against it. </p><p>As the boy flopped down on to his bed and released a large sigh that he had been holding back, he thought of Jisung again. The boy wasn’t much different to Ryujin in personality. Okay, initially Ryujin was way more confident than Jisung, she was bold and feisty but this only fed into her fierce loyalty to her friends and of course to Yeji. Jisung was rather similar once you go to know him. He wasn’t feisty but the subtle confidence he had made him seem strong and ready to take anything on and Minho knew that really, he was. He’d seen the boy at the Hwang’s dinner, Jisung spoke as if he knew how to get a business deal with any company ever in existence and Minho found that so attractive. It was a quality he didn’t even know that Jisung had.</p><p>A second later, a ping from Minho’s phone knocked him from his thoughts. He fished the device from his pocket to see a message from Ryujin on the screen that read ‘Minho is your father pestering you about me? I think they’re conspiring against us.’ The message was followed by a mess of characters from Yeji that Minho assumed must have been an odd way of laughing considering Jisung had replied with the exact same thing. </p><p>‘Yes he has.’ Minho sent back, ‘I told him we’re good friends.’</p><p>Ryujin then too sent a long string of random capital letters, ‘no but I said the exact same to my dad they’re gonna be so suspicious.’</p><p>Minho grinned at the thought of his father and Mr Shin talking about how their children were going to end up dating and not realising how completely wrong they were. It brought him great satisfaction to know that he still had the ability to lead his father into such stupid situations. </p><p>He began to express this satisfaction to his friends in the group chat for a moment before a voice rang out around the house that sounded fuelled by pure anger. “LEE MINHO YOU WILL COME DOWN THOSE STAIRS AT ONCE!” </p><p>Minho felt his blood run cold. His father hardly ever raised his voice so loudly and when he did, it meant something really bad had happened. </p><p>The boy abandoned his phone on his bed mid message and tentatively climbed down the staircase. His grip was so hard on the rail that his knuckles began to turn white and he couldn’t help but think that he shouldn’t be this afraid of his own father. </p><p>Never once had that voice been directed towards him and Minho was bewildered because he couldn’t possibly think of what he had done to deserve it. As he rounded the corner into the living room he saw his father stood with his hands behind his back. The man was practically bright red in the face and Minho was certain that if he focussed hard enough he would be able to see steam coming from the man’s ears. </p><p>“What is it father?” the Lee heir asked whilst trying to maintain a calm and steady voice. </p><p>“Would you like to tell me who stayed here last night and why this credit card has the name ‘Mr Han Jisung’ written upon it,” Minho’s father asked. The boy surged forward and took the card from his dad’s hands.</p><p>It was Jisung’s. Minho looked back at his father’s face and then down to the card again. How was he supposed to lie his way out of this one?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading this chapter!! i’m so sorry i updated late again</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. ten -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Surely his father didn’t mean it? Surely he wouldn’t disown him for something so trivial as making a friend?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“His credit card?” Minho’s father had asked in pure bewilderment after Minho had suggested that they should sit down and talk about the situation, “you’re saying he wasn’t here he just asked you to hold his card and you accidentally brought it home with you?”</p>
<p>Minho nodded but even he knew how utterly unbelievable his lie was.</p>
<p>“Do you even realise how ridiculous that sounds?” His father scoffed, “why could he possibly need to have his credit card out at Mr Hwang’s house?”</p>
<p>“We were online shopping, Jisung bought a new phone case,” Minho explained quickly. </p>
<p>“You really expect me to believe that?” </p>
<p>“It’s up to you whether you believe it or not but that’s the truth, there is literally no reason why Jisung would’ve been here anyway,” Minho shot back and his father only shook his head in anger.</p>
<p>“If I find out that that boy has been under this roof there will be hell to pay,” Mr Lee spat before storming out of the living room and slamming the door on his way out. Almost as soon as he left, Minho’s mother ran into the room with a worried expression.</p>
<p>“What were you thinking?” she asked, “how did Jisung manage to leave his credit card here?” </p>
<p>“He was showing me the cool design on it,” Minho groaned as he grabbed his phone from the coffee table next to him.</p>
<p>“Well regardless, as long as that’s the only one of his things that’s here, your father should leave you alone just…” she trailed off for a second before sighing, “be a bit more careful next time?”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Minho nodded, “I’m sorry mom.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” she ruffled Minho’s hair fondly, “anyway, what did you do?”</p>
<p>“We built a fort!” Minho recalled excitedly but still in a hush voice, “we had so many plans like we were gonna make pancakes and so many things but we ended up building the fort and then Jisung fell asleep on me like literally on me.”</p>
<p>“Sounds like you had fun thought at least so it was worth it,” his mother beamed upon seeing her son’s gleaming smile.</p>
<p>“It was more than worth it,” Minho affirmed. Their conversation ended at that and his mother left the room feeling more than satisfied with her decision to allow Jisung to stay over. Her son, of course, knew by now that she was setting up as many situations as she could where they could be together and it was comforting knowing that she was fighting for his happiness.</p>
<p>The truth was that the Lee heir could feel himself falling deeper for Han Jisung with every passing day. They had known each other for the shortest amount of time but, at risk of sounding cliche, Minho would say that he felt like he’d known Jisung his entire life. Everything about them complimented each other so well, their personalities fit together brilliantly with Minho’s confidence being able to break Jisung out of his shell with ease. They were almost made for each other, Minho supposed.</p>
<p>His phone went off then, disrupting his thoughts rather rudely but his annoyance softened slightly when he saw that the message had come from Ryujin. ‘Did you even consider inviting me to your little sleepover?’ She had written and Minho chuckled at this. </p>
<p>‘How did you even know about that?’ He sent back and he could just imagine Ryujin laughing at her screen. Her ability to always know what was going on was nothing if not utterly terrifying.</p>
<p>‘Jisung is crying to me about it’ a message came a few seconds later and was followed by, ‘apparently you were really cute and soft and you didn’t move even though he fell asleep while you were in a really uncomfortable position?’ a few seconds after that. </p>
<p>Minho didn’t have to look into a mirror to know that his face had flushed a bright red. Did Jisung really think that about him? Had he really said that Minho was cute and soft?</p>
<p>His phone pinged again ‘also he said he wants his credit card back.’</p>
<p>“Oh shit,” Minho cursed under his breath as he realised that he had left Jisung’s card in his father’s hands.</p>
<p>He changed chats quickly and typed a message out to Jisung, ‘don’t worry about your card i’ll get it back to you!! it just gives me another chance to see you right?’</p>
<p>Barely noticing that the message he had just fired off was slightly flirty, the boy set his phone down and instantly began a tour around the house to find his father. After a few minutes, he saw a figure sat in his father’s office and he knocked a few times before walking in. The man looked up at Minho from his desk with a questioning gaze before speaking, “and what brings you in here?” </p>
<p>“I need Jisung’s card, I’m going to return it to him,” Minho stated and his father just let out a laugh.</p>
<p>“Do you really think I will allow you to meet with him so freely? I will return this card straight into the hands of his father,” Minho’s dad shook his head as if the words his son had just spoken were a joke, “you can shut the door on your way out.”</p>
<p>“I’m an adult,” Minho pressed as he completely ignored the man’s command, “I can have friends that you don’t like because I am my own person and I am an adult therefore I have a right to make my own decisions.”</p>
<p>“While you are in my house and living from my money you will follow my rules,” Mr Lee spoke back calmly which only fuelled Minho’s inner anger.</p>
<p>“So you’re saying you would rather have your son move out and have no money to live on than him be friends with Han Jisung?” the boy questioned.</p>
<p>“If that’s how you want to interpret my words then so be it.” Minho’s jaw dropped to the floor.</p>
<p>“I think sometimes you forget that I am your son and that the feelings and well-being of your family should come first over any business dispute, it’s a wonder I still care for you and have any affection for you at all,” Minho spat back as he desperately tried to conceal how much his father’s words had hurt him. The boy all but ran from the room with tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he reached his bedroom and flopped down on his bed.</p>
<p>Surely his father didn’t mean it? Surely he wouldn’t disown him for something so trivial as making a friend? Or, Minho thought, rather bitterly, hopefully something more.</p>
<p>In that moment, Minho began to wish that his feelings for Han Jisung would simply disappear. Yet, when he thought of the boy’s bright smile and his nerves upon their first meeting and how he had so easily opened up to Minho upon learning that they were alike, the dancer once again couldn’t still his rapidly beating heart. The feelings were still there and being around Jisung made Minho feel so free, why should he simply toss away his happiness for a man who doesn’t care about him? </p>
<p>“You shouldn’t,” Minho spoke aloud before burying his head in his pillow and letting his emotions lull him to sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>tysm for reading this !! i really really hope you enjoyed it &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. eleven —</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Suddenly, it seemed that he was no longer the only one willingly to fight.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Awakening the next morning was something that, in hindsight, Minho wished he had never done. The word among the staff in the house was that there were to be visitors that night. Apparently the dinner had been arranged at very short notice and Minho took this as the reason that he hadn’t been informed about it at all. The Lee heir didn’t know whether it was his dad’s way of trying to get back at him for having Jisung stay over or whether he was on to the fact that he didn’t like girls at all but whatever it was, the plan wasn’t going to work.</p>
<p>“We’ve invited the Shin family for dinner tonight, I expect you to use any charm you have to flatter their daughter, I understand you got along quite well before don’t mess this up,” his father had said after Minho had been sent to his office for a ‘very important message.’</p>
<p>It was hard to fight back the urge to laugh but somehow Minho managed it and he only let out his amusement through text messages sent straight to Ryujin. They joked for a while about pretending to be in love with each other and Ryujin had said at one point that when she arrived she would give him ‘the fattest cheek smooch she had ever seen.’ Minho had actually laughed aloud at this and replied that he didn’t doubt for a minute that she would keep her word.</p>
<p>Getting ready for the dinner that night took Minho no where near as much time as it did for the Hwang’s dinner where he knew he would be seeing Jisung. Instead of applying makeup and perfectly styling his hair, the boy just threw on a suit and made sure his hair was vaguely following the same direction before walking down the stairs and laughing at a text from Ryujin claiming that she had ‘almost arrived with his smooch.’</p>
<p>When she finally did arrive, however, they were so quickly whisked off to sit next to each other at the table that they didn’t get chance to greet each other at all. Talk turned straight to business and the boredom was so evidently radiating from the two heirs that Minho’s mother tried to step in to start a conversation. </p>
<p>“So Ryujin, how did you come to be friends with Minho?” she asked kindly and Minho just offered her a warm smile that told Ryujin there was no need to lie.</p>
<p>“Well we were kind of forced to dance together,” she laughed, “and neither of us really wanted to I don’t think and I noticed Jisung sat looking sad and lonely because Minho had left him so I suggested we all sit together, we bonded over things we have in common and now we’re best friends,” she laughed. </p>
<p>Mrs Lee smiled brightly, “I’m very glad that Minho’s starting to make lots of friends, I was always so upset to see him so lonely, please look after him for me.”</p>
<p>“I’m trying my very best,” Ryujin giggled back and Minho just shook his head lightly.</p>
<p>Ryujin wasn’t lying at all. Almost everytime she had messaged the ‘rich and gay’ group chat it was with intent to get him and Jisung together. Although none of her plans had ever actually worked, Minho was positively sure that at one point something would have to come from one of them. Yet, the idea that Jisung felt the same way and would actually want to pursue a relationship with him still felt like a far-fetched fantasy. </p>
<p>Thankfully, their dinner ended quickly with only the typical, ‘what do you plan to do after your education?’ questions being asked and Minho giving his scripted and rehearsed answer that was identical to the one he had offered Mr Hwang only two nights ago. </p>
<p>Ryujin have a similar answer and just from the slight sarcastic tone in her voice and her father’s proud smile, Minho could tell that her answer was scripted too. Both sets of parents seemed quite happy that their otherwise ‘rebellious’ children had decided to behave for that particular occasion.</p>
<p>When they retired to the living room, however, the conversation had turned to relationships. Both couples gloated about how they had married for love rather than fortune and Minho almost scoffed and spoke about how they should treat their children the same way. He could see Ryujin almost glaring at her father from where she sat beside him. </p>
<p>“And you Ryujin, do you have a boyfriend?” Minho’s dad asked and instantly silence swarmed the room. </p>
<p>Minho only just caught the short warning gaze that Ryujin’s father threw her but it was obvious by the entire change in her demeanour that she was upset by the situation, “no I don’t,” she spoke. Both her and Minho knew that it wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the entire truth either.</p>
<p>“Ah Minho is single too but I suppose you both already knew that,” Mr Lee had chuckled and his son felt the anger bubbling in his chest. Minho knew his father well and he knew that his father was smart and could very easily tell what Minho really wanted. The boy knew that he would be surprised if his father hadn’t realised his huge crush on Jisung by now and maybe the thought that he knew what Minho wanted but was still pushing something else made it feel so much worse.</p>
<p>The dancer looked to his side and saw a defeated looking Ryujin slumped into her chair. She swished the water around her glass and took a sip from it every now and then. To see someone so bold and powerful look so resigned struck Minho. Ryujin was the epitome of strong, she always stood for what she believed in but right now, even she was sat pretending that her father’s words didn’t exist. </p>
<p>Emotions swept over Minho like nothing he had ever felt before and as he caught his dad’s eye he felt nothing but pure anger. This would have to be one of the last times he bowed to his father’s wishes. He was an adult now, he was legally allowed to make his own choices, he was gay, he was harbouring a giant crush on the boy his father hated more than anything else in the world and he was ready to fight for what he wanted. </p>
<p>In that moment, Minho swore to himself that after that night, he would never lie for or to his father again. The man in front of him should have to face the truth, especially when it came to the wants of his own son. If Minho wanted to hug and kiss Han Jisung then so be it.</p>
<p>As the Shin family left that night, Minho pulled Ryujin in for a tight hug. Both of them knew that it was more for comfort than it was for show and when he pulled back and looked his friend in her eyes, he saw a renewed fire in them. Suddenly, it seemed that he was no longer the only one willingly to fight.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading this chapter!! i really apologise if i’m posting it a little late :((( i haven’t been feeling too good but i’m really trying hard to stick to the update schedule but i’m also really sorry if some weeks i’m not able to )): but anyway i really really hope you enjoyed this part tysm for reading it !! </p>
<p>ily &lt;33</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. twelve -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minho thought that life was rather good when Han Jisung was the only person that mattered.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Jisung, how do your parents feel about the whole gay thing?” Minho asked in a hushed voice a few hours after Ryujin has left. </p>
<p>To say he couldn’t sleep would be a huge understatement. He had tossed and turned for hours and kept walking downstairs and drinking water or going to the bathroom simply to splash water on his face and make his thoughts go away. It didn’t work and thankfully Jisung had still been awake when Minho had texted him complaining of how he couldn’t sleep.</p>
<p>“I don’t think they mind the gay thing,” the younger replied in an equally hushed voice, “I guess they’re like Mr and Mrs Shin, they know of it well enough but they just don’t accept it or talk about it.”</p>
<p>Silence hung in the air as the two boys thought over Jisung’s words and it was a few minutes before the younger spoke again, “I think they’re more concerned that the business won’t have an heir,” he commented, “and they’re concerned that I’ll end up with you.”</p>
<p>Minho’s heart basically stopped at this, “what do you mean? Would that be so awful?” he asked in an attempt to sound like he was joking although his heart was begging for Jisung to say he wanted him too.</p>
<p>“No,” came the quick reply, “I just don’t think my parents would be too happy.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean no?” Minho pushed back instantly, “like no, it wouldn’t be awful hypothetically or as in you want to date me.” The older boy was sure that the desperation was now clear in his tone but he couldn’t bring himself to care.</p>
<p>Jisung was uncharacteristically quiet on the other end of the line and Minho thought he’d gone seriously wrong before the younger spoke again, “can we not have this conversation over the phone at 2am.”</p>
<p>Minho blushed so deeply that he was glad their conversation was over the phone, he felt some of his worry leave him as he spoke, “should we talk about it tomorrow?”</p>
<p>“That’s probably a good idea,” the other boy hummed in agreement.</p>
<p>Not long after that, the conversation died down and Jisung excused himself to go and get some sleep. Minho on the other hand felt that their conversation had just made him less likely to sleep.</p>
<p>Thoughts of Jisung stirred in his mind until at least 6am and it was only when the sun began to rise that he finally was able to shut his eyes and sleep. It didn’t last long though as he awoke not even 5 hours later to his aggressive ringtone and he groggily answered it just to hear Jisung’s voice, “good morning what time are we meeting up.”</p>
<p>The older boy shot up and was suddenly now much more awake than he was five minutes ago, Jisung’s words from last night ran back into his mind and the all too familiar butterflies woke from their slumber and began fluttering. </p>
<p>“How about maybe in an hour? At the park between our houses, do you know which one I mean?” Minho asked and he realised he sounded much more nervous than he’d ever been when he spoke to Jisung before.</p>
<p>“Yeah I do,” Jisung responded, “I’ll see you then.”</p>
<p>When he hung up, Minho went straight into turmoil. His hair was messy as he hadn’t washed the hairspray out last night and his face was covered in blotches of the previous night’s make-up. All in all, he looked like a complete disaster. </p>
<p>With no time to think, he jumped straight in the shower before getting out and pulling almost every item from his wardrobe as he desperately shifted through it in the search for a half decent outfit. Ultimately he settled on a brown sweater and black jeans and he half-styled his messy hair and applied the bare minimum make-up before running out of his house. </p>
<p>Despite his best efforts, Minho was still ten minutes later than he wanted to be and as he ran through the streets, he cursed himself for agreeing on meeting in an hour and a half. He arrived at the park 2 minutes late and saw Jisung still sat on a bench by the play area waiting for him. Minho tried to still his rapidly beating heart and he didn’t even know if running to the park had made him so out of breath or whether it was just Jisung’s presence. Whatever it was, it needed to go away, the last thing Minho wanted was to look nervous. </p>
<p>“Hi,” he softly tapped Jisung’s shoulder as he walked up behind the bench, “sorry I’m late, I underestimated how much time it would take me to get ready.”</p>
<p>“That’s okay,” Jisung beamed up at him before standing up from the bench and holding his hand out, “come on, I wanna go on a walk.”</p>
<p>Barely believing his luck, Minho grabbed Jisung’s hand and the younger entwined their fingers as they began walking. It was silent for a while before a squirrel crossed their path and conversation immediately sprung up. Minho called after it with Jisung’s name and the younger boy laughed brightly at his jokes.</p>
<p>Seeing Jisung so happy was something Minho would never get bored of, it was the way his smile took up so much of his face with how wide it was and how he laughed with his entire body, there was something so perfectly Jisung about everything he did and Minho would always like anything where Jisung was involved. </p>
<p>They made it to the top of the park and it was soon obvious why Jisung wanted to walk there. It was much quieter with just one bench and a cluster of trees behind them, they sat down and looked out over a field of dandelions before Minho grabbed a dead one and showed it proudly to Jisung.</p>
<p>“If you make a wish and then blow all of the seeds away, it will come true,” he spoke and Jisung grinned.</p>
<p>He took the dead flower from Minho and held it in front of his face before closing his eyes for a few seconds and then blowing hard. The seeds fluttered off into the distance on the way to their new beginnings while Jisung looked up at Minho with a blindly bright smile.</p>
<p>“What did you wish for?” Minho asked.</p>
<p>Jisung took a deep breath before answering, “that you were implying what I thought you were implying over the phone last night.” </p>
<p>Minho jolted straight immediately and Jisung seemed worried by his reaction even though he calmed down quickly, “what did you think I was implying?” The older asked just to check that his assumptions were correct.</p>
<p>“I was hoping…” Jisung trailed off as he fiddled with the many rings on his fingers in an attempt to avoid eye contact with the boy next to him, “I was hoping that you might like me,” he confessed.</p>
<p>Minho was entirely in shock. His heart was beating faster than he had ever felt it beat before, his mind was racing with things he should say or do and Jisung was looking at him so nervously and worriedly that he couldn’t bear to keep him waiting any longer.</p>
<p>“I do,” he breathed out and Jisung’s mouth formed a circle from shock before he smiled. </p>
<p>“Oh my god,” the younger whispered to himself and Minho grinned brightly.</p>
<p>“Do you like me?” he asked softly as he placed his hand on top of Jisung’s already knowing the answer.</p>
<p>“Yes, a whole lot actually, I have done for a while,” Jisung stuttered out.</p>
<p>Minho couldn’t even explain the pure euphoria he felt in that moment. He forgot about his dad and his new deals, he forgot about the requests for an heir, he forgot about the fact that he was being set up with Ryujin and he just focused solely on Han Jisung. In that moment, they were the only people in the world that mattered. They stared into each other’s eyes and they grinned and Jisung surged forward almost knocking Minho back with the sheer force of his hug.</p>
<p>It was everything Minho had ever wanted and more. He didn’t want his confession to be flashy because he had had far too much of flashy and expensive things, it was simple and beautiful. Just himself, Jisung and nature as the witness and they sat with their arms wrapped tightly around each other giggling from sheer joy. </p>
<p>Minho thought that life was rather good when Han Jisung was the only person that mattered.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading this!! i’m so sorry that this chapter is a day late, i wasn’t really in a great place yesterday but i’m okay now!!</p>
<p>i really hope you enjoyed this chapter and tysm for reading it &lt;33 ily &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. thirteen -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minho allowed himself to feel true, unfiltered happiness and his only wish was that it wouldn’t crash down anytime soon. Hopefully his wish would come true.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Minho quickly found that life with Jisung as his boyfriend wasn’t much different to life with Jisung as his best friend. They still texted every night and called each other most days but now with the added excitement that next time they saw each other they could cuddle and kiss. The older boy smiled just from thinking about it and when Ryujin requested a ‘group catch up,’ Minho had never been more for it.</p>
<p>“We still haven’t told her,” Jisung had mentioned down the phone after they had accepted her offer.</p>
<p>“That’s a problem,” Minho hummed, “maybe we just don’t tell her and see how long it takes.”</p>
<p>“You know it will take her two minutes flat,” Jisung groaned.</p>
<p>“I don’t even think it will be that.”</p>
<p>Regardless of how long they thought it would take Ryujin to notice, the two boys accepted that as their plan. They were meeting up that afternoon at their resident spot (the dessert shop.) Minho has agreed on walking to meet Jisung a few streets away from the younger boy’s house and then they would arrive together.</p>
<p>Despite already being Jisung’s boyfriend, Minho still found that it took him almost an hour to figure out what to wear. It should’ve been obvious at that point that Jisung already liked him and one bad outfit choice wouldn’t put him off but the older boy was still afraid. By the time Minho finally found an outfit he was happy with, almost the entirety of his wardrobe was strewn across the floor but he had little time left before he had to leave so he decided to deal with the consequences later.</p>
<p>He got ready quickly after that, he styled his hair a little and applied a thin layer of lip gloss before calling out to his dad that he was meeting Ryujin. The boy all but ran out of the front door for fear that his father would find out who he was actually going to spend time with and stop him. </p>
<p>Technically he hadn’t lied when he’d said that he was meeting Ryujin, he was meeting her but he’d just let out a few minor details about other people he was meeting too. As Minho walked, his mind occasionally flicked to the thought of how his father might react to his and Jisung’s relationship. Honestly, it was something that Minho didn’t want to deal with that day at all so instead he pushed it to the back of his mind and thought instead about how he would be seeing Jisung in just a couple of minutes.</p>
<p>Minho wasn’t surprised that Jisung wasn’t there when he arrived, the younger had built up quite a tendency to never be on time. It was, however, only a few minutes that Minho had to wait before he saw a disheveled Jisung running down the street. As soon as his boyfriend finally made it, Minho looked around quickly before placing a soft kiss to the boy’s cheek. </p>
<p>The younger boy quickly flushed a deep red before looking up at his boyfriend, “do you live to make me flustered?” he giggled.</p>
<p>“And what if I do?” Minho simply questioned in return which made Jisung giggle even more.</p>
<p>They began their walk then, Minho held Jisung’s hand in the pocket of his coat in an attempt to keep the younger boy warm. Jisung had a spring in every step because of the sheer happiness that he got from just being in Minho’s presence. For once, everything seemed perfect and like it was going to work out for them. The silence between them was comfortable and they slipped a few words in here and there (which included Jisung excitedly pointing out countless squirrels.) By the time they reached the dessert shop, their smiles were wide and their hearts were full. </p>
<p>The peace didn’t last long though.</p>
<p>“YOU’RE HOLDING HANDS, I KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS,” echoed a loud voice from behind them as they stopped outside the shop to wait for Ryujin and Yeji.</p>
<p>The two boys whipped around instantly and were met by the beaming face of their best friend. </p>
<p>“How did you figure it out so quickly?” Jisung whined to Ryujin who just rolled her eyes and laughed in return. </p>
<p>“You’re literally holding hands,” Yeji pointed out and Jisung relented at that. Maybe they had always know that their plan had been destined for failure anyway. </p>
<p>With Ryujin’s newfound knowledge came a bombardment of questions as soon as they took their seats. It was almost like she had a detailed list of everything she needed to know in her head but the two boy’s couldn’t bring themselves to mind at all. Minho loved seeing the deep read of Jisung’s cheeks when he talked about how he’d liked the younger for so long and Jisung loved seeing the sparkles in Minho’s eyes when he’d talk of his admiration for the older boy.</p>
<p>“This is the last thing I need to know I promise,” she grinned.</p>
<p>“What is it?” Minho faked a groan.</p>
<p>“What are your favourite things about each other?”</p>
<p>The older boy was stumped by the question for a short moment. His favourite thing about Jisung was pretty much everything. The way he laughed a little to hard at Minho’s joke, the way he was always there whenever Minho needed him, the way his eyes lit up at even the smallest of compliments, the way he was so shy at first but he grew from his shell and became so loud and unafraid.</p>
<p>“There’s too many things,” Minho spoke out first and Jisung’s head whipped around to face him.</p>
<p>“You really think that?” the younger asked and Minho could see the self-doubt in his eyes. </p>
<p>“Of course I do,” he began, “you’re literally amazing, there’s no one else I would rather spend my time with, you’re so kind and thoughtful and you’re there when I need you,  you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met inside and out and you make me so so happy.”</p>
<p>“I’m gonna cry,” Jisung whined but the smile on his face was so wide that Minho couldn’t help but think that maybe he had done his job correctly, “you also stole all of my stuff,” the younger continued.</p>
<p>“You’ll have to be creative,” Minho joked which earned him a light whack on the arm from his boyfriend.</p>
<p>“I think it’s the fact that you’ll stop at nothing to make the people around you happy even at the expense of yourself,” Jisung answered honestly, “even the first time that we met like we were both scared that each other were going to be assholes but you went out of your way to talk to me despite your parents telling you I’m horrible,” Jisung smiled, “thank you for making me so comfortable in a place where I felt the complete opposite.”</p>
<p>Minho thought that now he understood why Jisung said he was about to cry.</p>
<p>It was perfect in that moment. Minho was surrounded by his favourite people. His two newfound best friends say across from him and his boyfriend sat next to him occasionally stealing chunks of cookie from his sundae. It felt like that was what normal life was supposed to be and Minho relished in it. He allowed himself to feel true, unfiltered happiness and his only wish was that it wouldn’t crash down anytime soon. Hopefully his wish would come true.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much to anyone who has read this !! i’m so so sorry the update is so late this week i’m not usually like this but i’ve not been doing well the last week so i’ve struggled to write !! i really hope this update is okay and that you enjoyed it!! tysm for reading &lt;33</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. fourteen -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>please be warned that in this chapter there is an implied mention of outing!! please don’t read it that makes you uncomfortable!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Life seemed to still for a few days after the dessert shop outing. Minho’s dad simply went to work every morning in his office as normal, Minho spent his time working on some new dances at the studio whilst Jisung was upstairs writing a new song. Sometimes the two boys would be so in tune with each other that they would turn up to the studios at the same time. Yeji would roll her eyes whenever this happened and not bother even asking them before booking them into their respective studios. </p><p>It was monotonous but not boring. Minho still got to visit Jisung in his studio after he’d finished up and hear snippets of newly produced songs, they still called every night to talk about their day even if they had already seen each other. Jisung has so easily slipped into Minho’s life that the older boy found himself surprised that he was ever not there. The thought that he had once lived and not known Jisung personally felt completely outlandish.</p><p>“Does your dad still hate me?” Minho joked down the phone one day and Jisung scoffed.</p><p>“Most of the time now I think he doesn’t hate you and he just hates your father,” Jisung admitted and Minho felt surprised at this, “I think that maybe because he thinks we’re friends he’s warmed to you.”</p><p>“Really?” The older asked in surprise, “I think my dad hates you more because he thinks we’re friends.”</p><p>Jisung laughed loudly at this and Minho was glad, in a way, that Jisung found their situation funny. It was a ‘you have to laugh or you’ll cry’ situation and Minho was glad that both of them could see the funny side.</p><p>“I think my mom knows about us,” Minho spoke up after their giggles calmed down.</p><p>“Really?” The younger countered.</p><p>“Yeah, she keeps finding ways for me to talk to you or about you, she asks me things and she seems really supportive, I’m thinking about telling her,” the older admitted.</p><p>“That could be good though,” Jisung agreed through the speaker, “at least if anything ever went wrong you’ll have someone on your side.”</p><p>Minho went to bed with that thought. His mom was someone he knew that he could undoubtedly rely on and he felt that telling her would lift a huge weight from his shoulders. She was the only one who really had any power over his dad too and Minho hoped that somewhere deep inside, his father still cared more about him than his petty rivalry with Jisung’s family.</p><p>Minho drifted off to sleep with a goal in his mind. He would tell him mom about his and Jisung’s relationship tomorrow. </p><p>It seemed, however, that when he was awoken the next morning many things had changed. The house seemed like it was in utter turmoil and as Minho trudged down the stairs to grab his breakfast, he was desperately trying to figure out why so many random men were sat in his father’s office looking stressed. He located his mother after a few minutes and ran to her immediately.</p><p>“Mom what’s happening?” He asked in concern and she just sighed deeply.</p><p>“One of the deals your father and Mr Han have been working on to secure parts for their joint project has fell through,” she explained and Minho instantly understood the severity of the situation, “they’re having to find another supplier and figure out another deal by tonight or Mr Hwang will drop them.”</p><p>“Shit,” Minho cursed and his mother barely flinched at his language. </p><p>“Maybe it’s best for you to stay in your room today or even get out,” she began, “just please stay out of your father’s way while he sorts this out.”</p><p>“Of course,” Minho spoke and once again his own personal concerns were pushed to the back of his mind in favour of the business.</p><p>Minho couldn’t blame his family for being worried. After all, the business was their livelihood and Minho knew how much his father had worked on that particular deal. Yet, he just couldn’t understand why his father acted like one partnership was the most important thing in the world. They were rich already and even if that deal fell through, they would still have enough money to live.</p><p>Regardless, he picked up his phone and texted Jisung, who he assumed would be in the same situation, to ask whether he would like to spend the day together. Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly,) Jisung was still not out of bed and had no idea about the situation. Minho caught him up quickly and the younger instantly agreed to spending the day together after mentioning that his father would probably be unbearable all day.</p><p>They agreed not to meet at the dessert shop this time but to go bowling together instead. It had took a lot of persuasion on Minho’s behalf but Jisung eventually gave in and after seeing how happy his compliance made his boyfriend, Jisung didn’t really care about the fact that he hated bowling.</p><p>Getting dressed and ready was a task that Minho still found as hard as he had in the weeks before. There was just something about Jisung that made him want to try hard, there was something about Jisung that constantly pushed Minho to be the best version of himself. This wasn’t just true in appearance, Minho wanted to be the best friend, the best boyfriend, the best at making Jisung laugh, the best at making Jisung smile, the best at everything. </p><p>After much deliberation, Minho settled on a grey long-sleeved top with a black jacket and black jeans. It was simple but effective as Ryujin had told him when he hurriedly asked for her advice over text. Minho agreed with a smile before running downstairs.</p><p>“Mom, dad, I’m going out for a bit!” He called to them. The boy stood there for a second awaiting a bombardment of questions from his dad but they never came. Instead, he just left.</p><p>In a way, it had worked out quite well. Minho got a whole day to spend with his boyfriend without the fear of their parents finding them. It seemed that every cloud gave way to a blue sky after all or at least Minho had hoped. </p><p>This hope came crashing down when he reached the bowling alley and sat down to wait for Jisung only to hear his name being called from afar in a voice he almost recognised. It couldn’t be could it?</p><p>“Lee Minho?” The person asked.</p><p>“Namwoon?” Minho came face to face with him. The person who destroyed him and taught him that most people only wanted him for his money, the person who used him for his kindness and generosity. </p><p>Minho heard Jisung’s voice next, “who’s this? Minho are you okay? Can you hear me?”</p><p>Minho froze. From the look on Namwoon’s face he knew why Jisung was there, he knew what they were to each other and he could do whatever he wanted with the new information. Minho was terrified.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so so much for reading this chapter!! i’m so sorry about i being so late again, i’m gonna try and get the schedule back to normal next week!! tysm for reading this chapter i really really hope you liked it &lt;33 !!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. fifteen -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>All Minho could do now was hope. He had to hope that Namwoon was no longer a man of his word. Yet somehow his hope wasn’t that strong at all.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>just to let you know there’s a huge mention of outing in this chapter, please don’t read if that is something that makes you uncomfortable!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“It’s funny I saw you here,” Namwoon chuckled to begin a conversation that Minho never wanted to have.</p>
<p>“Minho,” came Jisung’s concerned voice that was now a meek whisper. The older boy finally came to his senses and stood up to face someone who he wished to never see again.</p>
<p>“It’s not funny, you know I come here,” the Lee heir countered and Namwoon laughed again despite it being obvious that there was no joke.</p>
<p>“I guess you’re right, it’s nice to see that you’ve finally got a boyfriend to bring here,” Namwoon spoke then and Minho’s blood instantly ran cold, “I’ve seen his face before, the son of your dad’s main rival right? Does he know?”</p>
<p>It became evident to Jisung then that this wasn’t just a friendly conversation. Namwoon’s intentions were clear and despite not knowing who this man was, Jisung wanted nothing more than to get away from him.</p>
<p>“He’s not my boyfriend,” Minho replied weakly. He knew that Namwoon would’ve seen straight through him.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry you can tell me,” a sly smile formed on Namwoon’s face, “no one will find out.”</p>
<p>His words meant the opposite and Minho could tell this terrifying truth just by looking at his face. After months of not knowing when the man in front of him dishonest, Minho now thought that he could read him like a book. Scheming eyes were looking down at where Jisung still hadn’t removed his hand from Minho’s shoulder and for every second they stood in silence, Minho knew that Namwoon’s plan would just be getting worse. There was no way out of the situation, everyone would know.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t matter anyway because we’re just best friends,” Jisung replied courteously but even Minho could hear the crack in his voice as he spoke, “if that’s everything, we’ll be leaving now.”</p>
<p>“But Jisung our game,” Minho spoke softly and his boyfriend just smiled.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, we’ll find somewhere else to play.”</p>
<p>“I guess that’s all,” Namwoon smirked, “good to see you Minho.”</p>
<p>The Lee heir nodded and he and Jisung made their way out of the shop. </p>
<p>“Minho, what is going on?” Jisung asked worriedly as soon as they passed the edge of the shop window.</p>
<p>“I have a lot to explain but for now all you have to know is that he was once my friend and he kept using me for money and begged me to pay his rent, I said no and he’s holding it against me,” Minho tried to calm himself down but his breathing was heavy and his mind was whirring at a million miles an hour. There were so many possibilities but not one of them included his parents not finding out about his and Jisung’s relationship. Everything was still so new and exciting, they hadn’t even had the chance to explore what being together really meant yet and already they were faced by a huge obstacle. Minho felt regret seeping into his veins as he thought about how he had dragged Jisung right into Namwoon’s trap. </p>
<p>“Minho listen to me, calm down okay, listen to me now, I know what you think is gonna happen,” the younger began, “but you have to know that our parents can’t control us forever, the worst they can do is yell and get angry and I don’t even think my parents will do that so I would say that if anything happens you always have a place at our house but I don’t think it will,” Jisung too paused for a second to collect his thoughts, “maybe you need to tell your mom exactly what is happening okay, I think that’s the best plan.”</p>
<p>Minho took in his boyfriend’s words and nodded slowly before Jisung pulled him into a tight hug. They stayed like that just for a couple of seconds but it was enough to drag Minho right back down to Earth. For those few second spent in Jisung’s arms, Minho felt a little bit of his worry leave him and when they pulled away the world looked ever so slightly brighter. </p>
<p>“Better?” Jisung asked him softly and Minho just hummed in reply.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess,” the older of the two apologised after a few seconds.</p>
<p>“This isn’t your mess at all and I’m your boyfriend that’s what I signed up for, I want you and any mess that might come with you,” the younger giggled.</p>
<p>“That makes me feel a little better,” Minho admitted. </p>
<p>They made their way to the park then, their fingers were intertwined as they swung their hands between them and Jisung pointed to the birds in the trees above. Minho knew that the younger was just talking about complete nonsense in an attempt to keep his mind of what had just happened and it was working a little. When the bird Jisung was talking about finally got bored and flew away, Minho looked to make sure no one was around them and pressed a light kiss to Jisung’s cheek.</p>
<p>“What was that for?” his boyfriend asked with a soft smile and a light pink sprinkled across his round cheeks.</p>
<p>“You looked sad that the bird flew away,” Minho replied off handedly.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Jisung spoke in return and Minho just pressed a kiss to his cheek again.</p>
<p>“What about that one?”</p>
<p>“Because you’re cute,” the older boy smiled. </p>
<p>It was odd how much power Jisung had over him. Even with lingering threats from Namwoon in his mind and the thought of telling his mother about his relationship, Jisung’s cute pout and sparkly eyes seemed infinitely more important. The ease in which Minho found himself forgetting everything else in the world other than Jisung was almost scary. It felt like nothing in the world could go wrong for Minho as long as Jisung was at his side and for now, he was. </p>
<p>Jisung was by his side on the bench they had just sat on and he was plucking petals from a daisy reciting, ‘he loves me, he loves me not.’ Minho smiles fondly before taking the daisy from Jisung and casually throwing it behind him.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t need a daisy to know that I like you,” Minho explained himself and Jisung hit him lightly on the arm.</p>
<p>“You’re a spoil sport,” the younger replied but when he saw Minho’s fond expression his own gaze softened, “you’re my spoil sport though.”</p>
<p>“I’m content with being your spoil sport.”</p>
<p>He was content, for now. Yet as he got home that night and Jisung was no longer by his side, Namwoon’s words took over mind again and Minho couldn’t help but feel terrified. At any second, his entire world could come crashing to the floor. The boy didn’t even want to imagine how his dad would act upon hearing the news that his only son was dating the son of his main rival, Mr Lee had even forbidden them from being friends. </p>
<p>All Minho could do now was hope. He had to hope that Namwoon was no longer a man of his word. Yet somehow his hope wasn’t that strong at all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading !! i’m so sorry my update schedule has been so bad but i’m really trying to keep the updates as regular as i can &lt;33 thank you so much to anyone who is reading this it means the world to me ily !!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. sixteen -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Everything felt better when they had each other to rely on.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Minho had calmed a little over the last week. It had been some time since he and Jisung had bumped into Namwoon and it was like his ex-best friend had ceased to exist once again.</p><p>Despite his best efforts, Minho still hadn’t had the chance to come out to his mother. The join Han and Lee project had made both Jisung and Minho’s parents almost impossibly busy. Other than talking to each other and sometimes Ryujin and Yeji, the boys barely had any human interaction at all.</p><p>The first opportunity for Minho came when his father had left to meet a supplier and he and his mother were sat alone for breakfast. The Lee heir was unsure of whether it was the best time to talk to her about him, she had deep rings around her eyes and looked more tired than Minho thought he had ever seen her. Instead he opted to ask about her, “mom are you okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine,” she muttered out tiredly, “just a lot of pressure with the deal and a lot of stuff I’ve had to help your dad out with,” she finished and Minho hummed then nodded.</p><p>“I can see you’ve been trying to tell me something though,” she began and Minho thought then that she must’ve had a sixth sense, “you can tell me anything Minho I don’t care how tired I look if you need me you can talk to me that’s what I’m here for.”</p><p>“Well…” Minho trailed off before really saying anything at all. He was extremely nervous. The butterflies in his stomach would simply not calm down as he fiddled with the rings that sat upon his fingers, “can you guess it?” he asked finally.</p><p>“I’m not sure,” she replied honestly, “I’d prefer you to tell me if that’s okay?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Minho just replied softly, “I’m just nervous.”</p><p>“You can tell me anything Minho you’re my son and I love you unconditionally,” his mom spoke and then seemed to think for another second, “unless you killed someone then that might be different.”</p><p>“No I haven’t killed anyone,” Minho quickly giggled out. He took a deep breath before deciding to take the plunge, “I’m gay.”</p><p>“I’m really glad you felt like you could tell me Minho, I’m proud of you, I hope you know this won’t change anything,” she smiled brightly and Minho felt his heart full with indescribable warmth.</p><p>“There’s something else,” he began after a few seconds.</p><p>“What is it?” his mom asked but Minho was almost certain that she already knew.</p><p>“I think you know,” he began but upon seeing his mother’s face, Minho was sure that she didn’t want to make her speculations known. </p><p>“What is it?” She questioned and her son drew a deep breath.</p><p>“I’m dating Jisung.”</p><p>Minho wasn’t sure what reaction he expected but it certainly wasn’t a smile stretching across her entire face. “You really like him yeah?” she grinned an Minho nodded quickly.</p><p>“Look I cant say the same for your father but I will support both of you, I don’t care who you’re dating Minho as long as you’re happy with them and they treat you well,” Minho’s mom grabbed his hand and gave it a soft squeeze.</p><p>For the boy, it was like a ten tonne weight had been lifted from his chest. Whether it was the fact that his mom supported their relationship or whether it was the fact that he had told someone in his family, Minho didn’t know. It was probably a mix of both but he cared little about that as he excitedly tapped out a message to Jisung.</p><p>His boyfriend’s reply came in caps only seconds after Minho had first sent a message, ‘YES I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU.’ Only a few seconds later, his phone pinged again and he unlocked his screen to see a selfie of Jisung smiling almost impossibly widely. </p><p>There was a long way to go and Minho telling his mom was only the start of. However, he knew that telling his father would never be that easy and it haunted him to no end. Despite everything, his father’s opinion still meant a lot to him and knowing that no matter what, he would never be happy with Minho’s choice hurt a lot.</p><p>In the end, Minho decided not to tell his dad for as long as he possibly could. The constant being pushed towards Ryujin was nothing compared to the outrage that his father would have if he found out about Jisung. </p><p>The day progressed with Minho doing little else but thinking about his father. He and Jisung had agreed to meet in the park that night but despite the excitement to see his boyfriend, Minho could not shake all of his bad thoughts from his mind.</p><p>When he finally reached the park, he saw Jisung in the distance sat on a bench staring at his phone. A faint smile made it’s way on to the dancer’s face as he walked closer and saw the squirrel design on the side of Jisung’s jacket. There was something about the younger boy that never failed to calm him down and make him feel like he was at home.</p><p>As soon as Jisung noticed his presence, he pulled Minho to sit down beside him. “Minho please don’t freak out over this,” Jisung began.</p><p>“What is it?” Minho spoke back quickly as he couldn’t help but completely ignore what Jisung told him to do.</p><p>“Minjun round my number and he messaged me saying things about you, I knew they were all fake so I argued with him and said some things too without thinking,” Jisung breathed, “this could easily fall back on me, I’m worried what if I see him and he tries to fight me or something and then someone sees and tells my dad?” </p><p>“Jisung,” Minho spoke trying to not let the stress seep into his own voice as he attempted to keep both himself and his boyfriend calm, “it’s so unlikely we’ll see him okay? And it’s not you he’s out to get it’s me so if anything I will argue with him rather than you, I promise you I won’t let anything like that happen.”</p><p>“You promise?” Jisung looked up at Minho with sparkling wide eyes full of worry but also of pure affection.</p><p>“I promise,” Minho held out his pinky and Jisung linked it with his own. Everything felt better when they had each other to rely on.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi!! thank you so much for reading this chapter and being so patient with me these past few weeks when i haven’t been updating, i’ve had some huge family issues to work through but i’m glad i could get this update up today and i really hope you enjoyed it &lt;333</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. seventeen -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The fact that he was seated right between Jisung and Hyunjin felt like an added bonus.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Another day brought another business dinner at the Mr Hwang’s residence, Minho could hardly say he was looking forward to the occasion but the saving grace was that Jisung would be present too. His father was especially nervous for the dinner as Mr Hwang’s son would be in attendance at an event for the first time. Throughout the past few days, Minho had been given many a lecture on how he should befriend Hwang Hyunjin to the best of his ability and if possible before Jisung does.</p>
<p>“You know how important it is that you befriend him right?” His father had reminded him even as they stepped into the car, “I’m told he will be in attendance with his boyfriend, it might be good for you to befriend him too.”</p>
<p>Minho was instantly shocked by this. He never thought of Mr Hwang as the type to let his son freely bring his significant other along to business events yet he was happy to hear of it. If only his own father would look even half as kindly on his relationship as Mr Hwang obviously looked upon his son’s.</p>
<p>The car ride again was filled with uncomfortable silence. Minho could tell that his mother was excited to see him and Jisung interact for the first time with the new knowledge that they were dating. It almost seemed as if she was finding it hard to mask her excitement and that fact made Minho feel a little giddy inside. Perhaps that’s what parents were supposed to act like, maybe both his mother and father should be excited  to meet Jisung not as the son of their business rival but as their son’s boyfriend. Minho almost scoffed at that thought though, his father would never react kindly that.</p>
<p>When they pulled up to the house, Minho wasn’t in awe like last time. After going to so many mansions and posh residences, the Lee heir found that the excitement he got from visiting a new place typically wore off after one visit. However, one thing that never wore off was the excitement he felt to spend time with his boyfriend.</p>
<p>The family were greeted by a friendly looking man dressed in a suit and white gloves. He almost looked like a magician if it hadn’t been for the trolley of drinks that he set aside immediately to welcome them into the house.</p>
<p>“Good evening, welcome to the Hwang residence, may I take your name so I can bring you to your table?” the worker asked politely and Minho’s dad smiled.</p>
<p>“Good evening, it’s Lee of Anstram Tech Corporation,” his father replied and the man skimmed down his list for a few second before finding the name and asking them to follow him.</p>
<p>Minho could’ve easily guessed that they would be sat on the main table but the fact that he was seated right between Jisung and Hyunjin felt like an added bonus. It was obvious that Mr Hwang had seated the younger boy’s at the bottom of the table a few seats away from where their parents sat so that they could talk more easily. For Minho, it was almost a god send, he could spend time with Jisung whilst befriending Hyunjin thus making his dad happy and himself. It was a win win situation.</p>
<p>“Hi,” Jisung greeted him with a wide smile as he took his seat. The older boy ignored the curious glance his father sent him and instead grinned back his boyfriend.</p>
<p>“Hi, fancy seeing you here,” he laughed before turning to the boy on his other side. He opened his mouth to speak but was soon interrupted by Jisung.</p>
<p>“Minho this is Hyunjin, we’ve talked for ten minutes and decided to become friends, this is Hyunjin’s boyfriend Felix and he’s my nearly birthday twin so I’ve decided we’re friend soulmates!” Jisung introduced them excitedly and Minho couldn’t help but feel excited too.</p>
<p>Jisung’s emotions were infectious to him, when Jisung was sad he felt it, when Jisung was happy he couldn’t help but be happy too. Besides, Jisung was always more than happy to make new friends and Minho couldn’t possibly think of a situation in which friends of Jisung wouldn’t soon become friends of his too.</p>
<p>“Nice to meet you both I’m Lee Minho,” he greeted them kindly.</p>
<p>“We know,” the boy on the other side of Hyunjin, who Minho now knew to be Felix, spoke, “Jisung has been rambling about how amazing you are for the past 5 minutes straight.”</p>
<p>Minho instantly flushed a bright red, “I haven’t I promise,” the boy next to him smiled sheepishly.</p>
<p>“He has,” then spoke Hwang Hyunjin, “apparently you’re really good at making forts.”</p>
<p>“He is though!” Jisung interjected causing the three boys to laugh. It was odd how well the four boys clicked, Minho could almost liken it to how he and Jisung became friends so quickly.</p>
<p>Hyunjin and Felix seemed just like them and Minho couldn’t say he wasn’t shocked by that. He thought that the elusive son of Mr Hwang would be professional and ready to talk about business and only business but Hyunjin was completely the opposite. In a way, it made it easy for Minho to guess at why his father had kept him a secret from the rest of the business world before. Hyunjin didn’t seem like he belonged in such a cruel and heartless environment, especially not with the soft way he looked upon Felix and how kind his words were. Minho could never imagine him being ruthless enough to make decisions that would hurt people’s livelihoods.</p>
<p>Only a few minutes after they began their conversation, it was interrupted by the last person to be seated on their end of the table. The eldest was hardly surprised to see Ryujin take the seat next to Felix with a bright smile.</p>
<p>“Minsung,” she greeted the two boys with a seemingly uninterested nod, “introduce me to your new friends.”</p>
<p>Jisung’s smile began to widen again as introduced yet another person to Hyunjin and Felix. Minho was almost in a daze as he watched him and because of this he completely disregarded the lack of confusion from Hyunjin and Felix as to why Ryujin had referred to them as ‘minsung’ rather than with their names. Instead, he took the time to look at his boyfriend. Jisung’s eyes glittered as he told Ryujin if everything she had missed, his lips were almost permanently curled into the heart shaped smile that Minho loved more than anything and his arms were flailing wildly as he told Ryujin a story that Hyunjin had just relayed to him.</p>
<p>“Minho,” the oldest boy heard after a moment, “Minho, hello?” he zoned back in to see Hyunjin snapping his fingers in front of his face.</p>
<p>“You were zoned out staring at Jisung,” he smiled cheekily.</p>
<p>“Wanna tell us why?” Felix asked them with a knowing stare.</p>
<p>“Are we really that obvious?” Jisung groaned in a hushed tone as Ryujin fell about laughing earning them the attention of their parents from the other end of the table. She fell quiet instantly and Hyunjin and Felix both offered them sympathetic looks.</p>
<p>“I’m taking it they don’t know,” Hyunjin began and Minho nodded sadly.</p>
<p>“You probably know how much they hate each other,” he began, “my mom knows but that’s it, it’s just too risky I mean, we were both told off for even being friends so I don’t want to think about how they would react if they knew we were dating.”</p>
<p>Hyunjin just nodded sadly, “I wish there was something you could do,” he spoke, “I hope at some point they’ll learn to accept your relationship.”</p>
<p>“I hope so too,” Jisung spoke next as he cast a wistful glance towards his parents. </p>
<p>“How about you Ryujin?” Felix smiled brightly in an obvious attempt to lighten the conversation. </p>
<p>“Do you want to see a picture of my girlfriend?” She beamed in response and perked up immediately. </p>
<p>“Oh here we go, you’ve started her now,” Jisung commented dramatically, “she’s never gonna stop talking, do you know how many facts I know about Yeji? Even she was surprised that I knew that much about her.”</p>
<p>“Shut up, it’s not like you’re not the same about Minho,” Ryujin just shot back and the boy in question began laughing. </p>
<p>“It’s okay Jisung, I’ll just have to call her tomorrow and tell her everything I know about you,” the dancer grinned.</p>
<p>The boys fell silent for a few seconds as they  listened to Ryujin rant about Yeji and how amazing her dance was. Felix commented here and there about how she looked like ‘that one dragon from how to train your dragon,’ “and you look like the other one Jinnie!” He clapped in excitement.</p>
<p>“I need a picture of you stood next to each other right now,” Jisung spoke and they all nodded.</p>
<p>“Well I’m free tomorrow if you want to get desserts at the usual place and introduce my beautiful girlfriend to her long lost brother,” Ryujin joked.</p>
<p>“I’m free,” Hyunjin replied instantly to which the other boy’s just nodded.</p>
<p>“That’s settled give me your numbers and I’ll add you to the group chat you don’t really fit the name but that’s okay, I’ll allow it,” she laughed.</p>
<p>“Perfect,” Felix grinned before they gave their numbers and became a part of the chat. It seemed that there was no turning back from that point and they spent the night becoming even closer.</p>
<p>They talked about anything and everything from Minho’s dad being annoying to Felix’s weird family holiday to Japan when he was 7. It just felt so beautifully normal and after so many years of feeling impossibly alone, Minho was overtaken with a wave of emotion and the beautiful feeling that he would never have to be alone again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading and for being so patient with me and my worst update schedule ever!! i’m slowly getting back on track and trying to at least update once a week so tysm for being so patient with me!! i really hope you enjoyed this chapter tysm &lt;33</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. eighteen -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minho was a man of heart not of duty.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Minho’s fathers office was a place that the boy could safely say he had no good memories in. Every time he was called there, it was just for his father to yell at him about another thing that he had done wrong or something else the man disagreed with. The Lee heir hated it. </p>
<p>He was a strong believer in independence and the thought that his father wanted to rule his life annoyed him to no end. So when the older man finally entered the room and sat down in his chair to speak, Minho had already readied himself for the inevitable argument. </p>
<p>“Minho can you tell me what I told you just before we left for the Hwang’s house?” Mr Lee asked and Minho instantly knew exactly where the conversation was heading.</p>
<p>“You told me to befriend Hwang Hyunjin and I did so,” the dancer replied.</p>
<p>His father scoffed in return, “you spent most of your night talking to Han Jisung, I’ll believe your friendship with Hwang Hyunjin and his boyfriend when I see it.”</p>
<p>“You won’t see it,” Minho told him with fire in his gaze, “I won’t parade around bragging about how I’m friends with him, to both me and Hyunjin we are just friends there is no business agreement or contract that comes with it, we enjoy each other’s company and that’s that.”</p>
<p>“And what of Han Jisung then?” Mr Lee spat back, “don’t make me laugh by pretending you enjoy his company.”</p>
<p>“I more than enjoy his company,” Minho spoke but quickly caught himself before he said anything else, “if that’s all you have to say to me I’ll be leaving to get ready so I can meet with my friends.”</p>
<p>“What friends?” Mr Lee all but shouted just as Minho lay his hand on the door knob. The younger turned to face his father.</p>
<p>“I’m meeting with Hyunjin, Felix, Ryujin and Jisungie,” Minho threw in the extra pet name just to aggravate his father even more, “so if you’ll excuse me.” He didn’t wait for the reply before leaving the room and slamming the door behind him. </p>
<p>It had honestly been expected that his father would react in that way. Minho knew that the man was glad that he had befriended Hyunjin and Felix despite the fact that Minho befriended them because he wanted to and not to gain anything from it. Yet, the one thing that had annoyed Mr Lee was that Jisung too was part of their friendship group. Minho couldn’t even begin to think of his father’s reaction if he found out that Jisung was even more than that to his son. </p>
<p>After throwing on a pair of black jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket, Minho was ready to leave. He was meeting Jisung at the park and then walking to the studio’s to meet with Ryujin and Yeji before they would walk to the dessert shop together. </p>
<p>“Mom,” Minho poked his head around into the living room and caught his mother’s attention, “I’m leaving now.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” she smiled, “have a nice time, tell Jisung I said hi,” she laughed.</p>
<p>“I will do,” Minho grinned before leaving. It was so odd to him, how his mother could send him off with a smile and even greet her boyfriend when his father literally hated everything about the younger boy. That was another thing Minho simply couldn’t comprehend, how could anyone hate Jisung?</p>
<p>The Han heir was quiet and reserved other than when he was literally forced to speak. However, as you would get to know him better, he was loud and absolutely hilarious. He was thoughtful and kind and always put other’s needs before his own and Minho couldn’t think of a person who had more good in their heart than Jisung did. The older boy was so surprised that Jisung could find room in his heart for him too. </p>
<p>“Hi,” Minho greeted his boyfriend with a soft kiss on the cheek. </p>
<p>“Hi,” Jisung smiled brightly and returned the gesture causing a light pink to dust over their cheeks. </p>
<p>“Shall we get going then?” Minho spoke first.</p>
<p>“I think we should.”</p>
<p>They walked in relative silence after that other than Jisung pointing out people’s pets and awing over them. Minho’s head was full of other things, the main one being just how much he would love to hold Jisung’s hand. His boyfriend was gleaming that day, his wide heart-shaped smile stretched over his face and his eyes would light up like Seoul at night when he would see another dog out on the street and Minho just wanted to be able to show him some affection. </p>
<p>His want to hold Jisung’s hand only got worse as they met with Ryujin and Yeji who walked a little in front of them with their fingers threaded together. Minho noticed their matching rings aligned perfectly when they were holding hands like that and the thought made him smile a little before his mind switched back to the thought of how he wished he and Jisung could do that too.</p>
<p>The dancer got his wish, finally, when they arrived at the dessert shop and all six of them were seated. He was finally able to grasp on to his boyfriend’s hand albeit underneath the table. They didn’t mind, affection was affection whether only they knew about it or the entire world did. </p>
<p>“What are you ordering?” Felix asked Jisung from beside Minho. Jisung just shrugged and looked to Minho for an answer.</p>
<p>“Are we getting a sharing sundae again?” He questioned and Minho nodded.</p>
<p>“If you want to we can, they have a really cool popping candy one here,” the older of the two pointed out and Jisung’s eyes widened as he read the description.</p>
<p>“Oh my god we’re definitely getting that,” the younger pointed towards the sundae as he told Felix. </p>
<p>“That sounds so good,” Felix commented and he tapped on Hyunjin’s shoulder to get his boyfriends attention, “please can we have this sharing sundae?”</p>
<p>Hyunjin didn’t even bother reading the description before looking up at Felix with the fondest expression Minho had ever seen, “of course.” Felix grinned so brightly that he rivalled the sun before reeling off their orders to Hyunjin who typed it into the shop’s new app.</p>
<p>“I’m so glad they have that now,” Ryujin spoke, “I hate talking to people.”</p>
<p>“You didn’t hate talking to me the first time we met,” Yeji spoke back and Ryujin just laughed as if it was the most ridiculous statement in the world.</p>
<p>“Why would I hate talking to a pretty girl?” Ryujin asked her and Yeji flushed a bright red before sitting back in her seat. </p>
<p>“That was so smooth,” Felix commented as the rest of the table laughed at the girl’s antics.</p>
<p>“Also,” the freckled boy spoke up again, “there was something I wanted to ask you all, I hope this isn’t weird because we’ve only known each other literally a day but would you want to come to my birthday party? It’s next week and I’d really love it if you’d all be there.”</p>
<p>“I’d love to come!” Jisung spoke up first and the rest of the group nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>“Me too,” Yeji smiled, “what day is it so I can book it off work?” She asked.</p>
<p>“It’s Thursday,” Felix told her and she nodded before picking up her phone and sending what Minho assumed was a text to her boss. </p>
<p>“I’d love to come as well,” Minho smiled and Ryujin told him the same. </p>
<p>“Don’t feel obliged to bring presents or anything as well, your presence will be enough of a present to me,” Felix spoke kindly and Minho just shook his head quickly. </p>
<p>“Presents are the best part of birthdays of course I have to bring you a present,” he told Felix who just laughed.</p>
<p>“If you insist,” he giggled. The conversation was cut short by the desserts arriving and Hyunjin quickly got to learn why Felix was so excited to get a sharing sundae.</p>
<p>“It’s literally so good,” the Hwang air spoke with a mouthful of cream, “like I can’t explain this to you enough I honestly don’t think I’ve ever tasted a dessert this good.”</p>
<p>“Me either,” Jisung commented and it was only then that Minho realised the streaks of chocolate around his mouth. </p>
<p>“Hold still a second,” he told his boyfriend and Jisung obeyed as Minho swiped the chocolate off with his thumb and then licked it. </p>
<p>“We just checked something off my couple’s bucket list,” Jisung spoke out as soon as he did so.</p>
<p>“What do you mean? You have a couple’s bucket list?” Minho asked in confusion. Surely if Jisung had a ‘couple’s bucket list’ he would’ve known about it by now.</p>
<p>“Not really,” Jisung blushed, “it’s just things that I’ve always wanted to do because they looked cute in movies I’ve watched and that was one of them.”</p>
<p>“Oh my god that’s so cute,” Minho squeezed his hand tightly and Jisung just stared up at him with a fond expression, “you’ll have to tell me everything on the list so I can make sure I can do it.”</p>
<p>“That defeats the point,” Jisung told him, “you have to do it by heart not by duty.”</p>
<p>Minho thought about what Jisung had said for a second. That very thing had been the reason that he had befriended Hyunjin, it had been the reason he was kind to Jisung. His heart wanted him to make friends and wanted him to at very least befriend Jisung. He wouldn’t do the things his father told him if they weren’t things that his heart was truly into because Minho was a man of heart not of duty. </p>
<p>“Well I’ll just have to make sure to be extra cute with you won’t I?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading this chapter !! i really really hoped you enjoyed it &lt;3 as this will probably be the last time i update until christmas, merry christmas to all those who celebrate it!! and to those who don’t i hope you have a really great week &lt;33 tysm !!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. nineteen -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minho no longer simply liked Jisung, his feelings had far surpassed that.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>True to his word for the next few days Minho tried to be ‘extra cute’ around Jisung. This included asking him to go shopping together to buy clothes for Felix’s party. Minho didn’t know whether shopping together was the kind of cute thing Jisung was talking about but it definitely happened in movies.</p>
<p>They arrived to the mall and before even beginning shopping, Minho led Jisung to the nearest place that sold pancakes. If there was anything that both boys loved in a morning then it was pancakes and Minho thought that eating would be a perfect way to start off their date. </p>
<p>“I’m so happy we’re eating first,” Jisung spoke with a wide smile, “my stomach hurts so bad, I’m so hungry.”</p>
<p>“You’re always hungry,” Minho pointed out and Jisung just shrugged. </p>
<p>“Hungry for your love and affection,” he giggled.</p>
<p>“I give you plenty of love and affection.”</p>
<p>They were seated after that and Minho ordered their meals and drinks on the restaurants app to avoid any unneeded human contact. Coming from a business family meant that talking to people should come naturally and it did (more for Minho than for Jisung) but it was still tiring. It made sense that Minho only did it when it was completely necessary. </p>
<p>“What are you thinking about?” The younger boy asked is boyfriend and knocked Minho from his thoughts. </p>
<p>“How much we have to talk to people,” Minho told him honestly and Jisung just groaned in response.</p>
<p>“It’s the worst,” he complained dramatically banging his head on the table, “I am the least confident person ever but my dad has installed a fake it until you make it philosophy in my head.”</p>
<p>“I hate that ‘fake it until you make it,’” Minho sighed as he recounted the numerous times that he had been told that too. </p>
<p>Their food came then and Jisung’s whining about interacting with people was halted by him stuffing pancakes into his mouth. Minho couldn’t help but stop eating sometimes just to look at him with his cheeks puffed out and the brightest smile the older had ever seen on his face. Jisung was a work of art.</p>
<p>The smile didn’t fade even as they started shopping. Rather than trying to find an outfit for himself, Jisung was far more focussed on selecting things that would look good on Minho. He found skinny jeans, stripy shirts, white button up shirts and literally everything that Minho could think of.</p>
<p>“Sung, you’re supposed to be picking stuff I’d look good in not the entire collection,” Minho laughed after his boyfriend had hung one t-shirt back up and was about to go straight to the next one.</p>
<p>“But you’d look good in anything,” Jisung pouted. </p>
<p>Minho blushed a deep red, “thank you but I have to find something to wear for Felix’s party,” he giggled, “how about we go for things I’d look especially good in?”</p>
<p>“Okay then,” Jisung agreed and they moved on to the next shop where the younger boy seemed to instantly latch his eyes on to something he loved. </p>
<p>“Minho,” he spoke as he grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and dragged him over to a black jacket that was slightly see through at the back and button up at the front, “you have to wear this.”</p>
<p>“Is it really birthday party wear?” Minho questioned as he took in what Jisung had chosen, “it looks more like something an idols would wear on stage.”</p>
<p>“No it’s perfect,” Jisung grinned, “and I think you would look really good in it, please at least try it on?” The youngest pouted slightly and Minho instantly knew he was screwed. </p>
<p>“Fine,” he gave in, allowing Jisung’s puppy dog eyes to get to him for what felt like the eightieth time just that week. </p>
<p>He walked over to the fitting room and Jisung took a seat outside before demanding that Minho came out to show him what the jacket looked like while he had it on. Minho agreed and stepped inside the room. He left his black t-shirt that he was wearing on and put the jacket over it before pushing back the curtain and smiling at his boyfriend.</p>
<p>“No!” Jisung protested, “you’re not supposed to wear it with a t-shirt under.” </p>
<p>“What?” Minho asked bewildered, “it’s a jacket?”</p>
<p>“So?” Jisung countered, “it’s fashion you wear it without one.”</p>
<p>Minho sighed before stepping back into the room and pulling the curtain back to cover him again. This time he took off his t-shirt before putting the jacket back on and oh, it did look good.</p>
<p>He smiled at his reflection before pushing the curtain back once more. “Wow,” was the first and only word to escape from his boyfriend’s mouth. </p>
<p>“I’m taking it you like it?” Minho asked with a cheeky smile on his face.</p>
<p>“Definitely,” Jisung nodded in awe, “turn around?”</p>
<p>Minho granted his requested and Jisung was left speechless once again. After a minute of him staring at his boyfriend in awe, Jisung was finally ready to speak, “we have to buy this,” was all he could manage to say before Minho giggled and nodded. </p>
<p>“Okay.”</p>
<p>Minho paid after that and Jisung decided that he was way too tired to carry on shopping and would rather do something else. It was in moments like this that Minho was upset that their families wouldn’t accept their relationship. If only Minho’s dad didn’t hate Jisung for no reason then they could head back to Minho’s house and lounge on his bed. They could lie down and watch a film together or fail at baking cookies in the kitchen or they could game together. Instead they headed to the only other place that they knew where they could just be, the studio. </p>
<p>Yeji was the one to let them in and she smiled at that knowingly as they booked Jisung’s regular studio after making sure it was free. Jisung had decided that it would be the perfect time to finally show Minho one of the songs he had been working on. Of course, he’d had some inspiration that came from the older boy that helped him with his writing so Jisung saw that it was only fit that Minho got to hear the song that was written about him.</p>
<p>After making their way up many flights of stairs, the two boys finally got to the studio and Jisung unlocked it before logging in to the computer and watching his songs pop up on the screen. </p>
<p>“There’s one I really want to show you,” he told his boyfriend who nodded in excitement, “it’s not finished so don’t get your hopes really high.”</p>
<p>“It’s by you Jisung so I already know I’m gonna love it,” Minho grinned and Jisung flushed a deep red.</p>
<p>“I kinda wrote it with you in mind,” the younger boy admitted as he clicked on the file.</p>
<p>“I bet it’s wonderful,” Minho told him and at that, Jisung pressed play.</p>
<p>
  <i> even a fool knows, you’re the best thing i’ve got </i>
</p>
<p>Minho had teared up just after hearing the first line. He knew that Jisung liked him a lot but hearing those words just made it all feel so beautifully real. Jisung thought all of those things about him, him Lee Minho. There was someone who liked him that much. </p>
<p>Minho didn’t even know if ‘like’ was the correct word to use for his feelings for Jisung anymore. The way he felt was just so strong and listening to that song only made it hit him more. Minho no longer simply liked Jisung, his feelings had far surpassed that.</p>
<p>“Minho are you okay?” Jisung asked nervously when the section of the song he’d finished had stopped playing.</p>
<p>“Jisung?”</p>
<p>“Yeah?”</p>
<p>“I love you.”</p>
<p>Jisung had never felt happiness as strong as that, “I love you too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading this chapter!! i really hope you enjoyed the calm before the storm &lt;33 tysm for reading and happy new year !!! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. twenty -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“I think we have to tell Felix who he is,” Jisung spoke up.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Minho had never liked parties. It wasn’t that he’d been to many (non-extravagant business ones he meant) other than the few that Namwoon had took him to. This was the main reason why he was unusually quiet and nervous on the way to Felix’s party. </p><p>Jisung was sat beside him, of course. Ryujin had managed to convince her dad to take the three of them despite the fact that he refused to take Yeji to. “I’ve hired her a chauffeur,” Ryujin had laughed down the phone when Minho asked about it, “and charged it straight to my dad’s card of course.” Yeji wasn’t too happy but Ryujin just laughed it off and explained that he had so much money he wouldn’t notice.</p><p>The journey was rather quiet. Minho didn’t know whether it was the fact that they were all nervous for the party of whether it was the awkwardness they felt about Mr Shin. Either way, it felt for Minho wrong to be sat with his boyfriend and best friend and not be sharing some huge silly story or talking about something ridiculous. He supposed those conversations would have to wait for when they finally pulled up to Felix’s party. </p><p>Despite the Australian boy’s request, all of them had bought presents. Yeji had insisted that she paid towards some of her and Ryujin’s joing present and Minho and Jisung had bought one each. It was hard to find something, Minho thought as he peeked inside his gift bag one last time and prayed that Felix would like it. He had known the boy for such a short amount of time so he could barely think of anything to buy.</p><p>The door swung open and interrupted Minho’s fretting. Hyunjin greeted them with a bright smile on his face and a ‘happy birthday’ headband placed on his head. Jisung snorted at the sight causing Minho to begin laughing too and the entire group were soon in hysterics even before they had entered the house. </p><p>“It’s gonna be a long day,” Hyunjin spoke as he finally stopped laughing and they stepped inside. </p><p>Minho wasn’t quite sure what he had expected of Felix’s house but it was beautifully average. The layout and size of it was something Minho could only compare to Namwoon’s family home that he had visited once. Other than that, Minho had never seen anything look so cosy in his life. There was something so seemingly beautiful about living an average life. </p><p>Neither Hyunjin or his family seemed to care about Felix not having much money. It was common knowledge that the Hwang’s were easily one of, if not the richest family in the country but none of that seemed to matter to them at all. In Hyunjin’s eyes, Felix was just like him and they worked together beautifully and Minho found their relationship heartwarming. </p><p>He had seen people so often marry for money in the world of business. He’d seen countless sons and daughters of his parents friends get married for nothing other than deals and it sickened him. Minho couldn’t help but think of all of the people who had had love robbed from them because of money. </p><p>“Minho? Minho? Minhoooo?” A hand waved in front of his face and the older boy only zoned back in when Jisung placed a light kiss on his cheek to knock him from his trance. </p><p>“Sorry about that, my robot glitched,” his boyfriend apologised to which Felix laughed and Minho only then realised the birthday boy was stood in front of him.</p><p>“Sorry,” he began and Felix’s amused grin didn't falter a bit, “happy birthday,” Minho held out the gift bag and Felix took it excitedly.</p><p>“You really did have to,” he smiled gratefully and Minho returned the gaze.</p><p>When Felix opened the bag, his excited gasp was enough for Minho to know he had made a good decision. “Oh my god!” The Australian boy exclaimed happily.</p><p>The present had been thought of in genius moment, Minho had spent a good half an hour googling and finding places to buy an array of random Australian snacks. He’d then made his dad’s driver take him to about 15 separate stores to find all of them but the look on Felix’s face made the whole thing worth it. He looked purely ecstatic.</p><p>Minho and Jisung blended into the party after that. They knew only their friends and there were random adults, who Minho assumed to be Felix’s family or family friends, dancing around to some English song no one but Felix and his mom seemed to know. </p><p>“Hey Minho, do you think you could choreograph a routine to this?” Jisung asked as a particularly cheesy sounding song came on.</p><p>“I think there already is a routine,” Minho pointed to the group of about 5 people who were making use of the make shift dance floor. </p><p>They watched the dancers for a while then, Jisung rested his head on Minho’s shoulder and the older boy used the time to just take the situation in. It was so easy for them to just be. No one in that room cared that Jisung was a Han or that Minho was a Lee. They didn’t care that their parents were rivals, they didn’t care that there was no deal attached to their relationship, they didn’t care that Minho looked at Jisung like he hung the stars in the sky. </p><p>Instead, Minho and Jisung were just two other ordinary boys. They sat unnoticed and Minho got to relax and he could finally look at Jisung without having to worry whether he was putting too much love into his gaze or whether he was staring for a second too long.</p><p>“What is it Minho?” Jisung asked finally after a few minutes, “you seem really deep in thought.”</p><p>“I am,” the older admitted, “it’s so easy just sitting here isn’t it,” he lifted up his hand that he had linked with his boyfriend’s, “we can just be together and no one cares.”</p><p>“That’s what it’s like in the wider world,” Jisung hummed, “the world of the rich means nothing to 99.9% of the population, they don’t know or care who we are.”</p><p>“I don’t want the people in our lives to care either,” Minho spoke and Jisung just laughed.</p><p>“We’ll get away from them some day,” he joked and Minho smiled in return. </p><p>“I hope so but anyway, you know this song right? Are you coming to dance?” Minho raised an eyebrow as Jisung who looked vaguely afraid.</p><p>“Come on,” Minho squeezed his hand gently, “no one knows us here other than Ryujin, Yeji, Felix and Hyunjin.”</p><p>“Oh shit,” Jisung spoke straight after which confused Minho until he turned to where everyone was facing the door.</p><p>“Sorry I’m late Lix, I bought you this, I hope you like it,” Minho heard a familiar voice that he never wanted to hear again.</p><p>“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he turned back around to face Jisung and his heart rate picked up.</p><p>“Minho you’ve gone so pale,” Jisung spoke worriedly and Ryujin seemed to notice their concern as she walked over and quickly lead them both into another room.</p><p>“What’s going on?” she asked and Minho almost felt as if he couldn’t speak.</p><p>“It’s Namwoon,” he breathed out.</p><p>“Who is Namwoon?” She asked bewildered and Jisung attempted to take over the conversation from his panicking boyfriend.</p><p>“He’s Minho’s ex best friend but they didn’t end on a good note and now he’s out to ruin Minho’s life basically,” Jisung explained.</p><p>“Sung, if he knows Felix, he can find my dad so easily, what if he tells him?” Minho asked desperately looking for reassurance that that wasn’t going to happen but Jisung couldn’t give any. </p><p>“What are we going to do?” Ryujin asked the two boys.</p><p>“I think we have to tell Felix who he is,” Jisung spoke up and Minho furiously shook his head at the suggestion.</p><p>“It’s his birthday we can’t just ruin it like, sorry but your friend is an asshole,” the oldest explained.</p><p>“If it was you would you want to know?” Ryujin asked.</p><p>“Yeah but-“ Minho began but he was cut off.</p><p>“So I’m going to tell him then.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading this part!! i’m sorry it took me so long to update )): but i hope you’re all having a good 2021 so far &lt;33 !! tysm for reading i hope you enjoyed it</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. twenty one -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minho decided that the world seemed a lot less scary when Jisung was holding his hand.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The two minutes that Ryujin took to return from talking to Felix unsurprisingly felt like hours to Minho. He sat down on the floor with Jisung as his side clutching his hand tightly and reminding him every few seconds that everything was going to be okay. It certainly didn’t feel that way.</p><p>The older boy was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that he had known Felix for probably 0.1% of the time that Namwoon had. There was just no way he would side with Minho over someone he knew so well.</p><p>When Ryujin finally returned, she did so with a worried looking Hyunjin behind her. He silently motioned for the two boys to follow him and they wordlessly obliged and allowed the boy to lead them upstairs to what appeared to be Felix’s room.</p><p>Tension quickly took over the atmosphere and the Lee heir simply didn’t know where to look. Jisung was still clutching tightly to his hand but even that support and comfort was not enough to make Minho feel okay. Namwoon was doing it again. </p><p>Minho had finally made some friends, he’d found people he related to, he’d found people who didn’t judge him, he’d found people who didn’t just want something from him and Namwoon was about to ruin that again. Minho simply felt defeated, it seemed that Namwoon would just never be gone from his life. </p><p>“Minho?” Hyunjin spoke first, “what happened? Ryujin just said that you have some not great history with one of Lix’s guests?”</p><p>The worry seeping into Hyunjin’s voice made Minho feel impossibly saddened. Hyunjin shouldn’t be upstairs with him, he shouldn’t have to deal with him being dramatic at his boyfriend’s birthday party. It all just felt so wrong.</p><p>“Yeah,” Minho managed to force out from behind his desperate attempt to keep back his sobs, “we uh... we were friends once.”</p><p>He breathed deeply and Hyunjin just nodded patiently, “I’m taking it your friendship ended badly?” </p><p>“Yeah,” Minho forced out the same word again, “he…”</p><p>A tear slipped down Minho’s cheek and Jisung instantly wiped it away with his sleeve, “he was using me for my money,” the boy finished.</p><p>Hyunjin’s expression immediately changed into one of both anger and pity, “what? what happened?”</p><p>“He kept asking for things,” Minho began, “and at first I gave in because I thought that was what friends do and then I heard him talking about me saying he was asking me for money for things and then he came over asking for rent and I just shut him out,” Minho blurted as two more tear drops escaped and Jisung once again did everything to clear them away. </p><p>Hyunjin nodded as his eyes widened and a deep frown found its way onto his face.</p><p>“And I thought that was the last of him,” Minho continued, “but then I saw him when I was out with Jisung and he figured we were dating and he knew who Jisung was and he was acting so weird saying you can tell me no one will find out and I’m so scared of him,” Minho managed to speak as his tears now fell so frequently that Jisung could no longer help him hide them. </p><p>Instead the younger just squeezed his hand tightly and stroked small circles on the back of his palm. Hyunjin immediately reached out to grab Minho some tissues and nodded, “hey please don’t worry about this, thank you for telling me, I’ll speak to Lix and don’t worry that it’s his birthday party I’m sure he’d prefer that you were comfortable because of something like this, we’ll find a reason to get rid of him and he’ll never know you were here okay? That’s only if you feel comfortable with that or if you feel comfortable with staying at all,” Hyunjin spoke and Minho nodded.</p><p>“I’d like to stay, I don’t want to ruin Felix’s party completely,” Minho spoke and Hyunjin smiled softly.</p><p>“The only one ruining the party is that bitch downstairs, don’t worry about it, I’ll send Jisung a text when he’s gone okay?” Hyunjin smiled and Minho just nodded in thanks before the boy left.</p><p>As soon as the door closed Minho let all of his emotions out and Jisung pulled the younger into his chest and hugged him tightly.</p><p>“I don’t want to ruin the party and I don’t want Namwoon to tell my parents and then we have to leave each other I don’t want to lose you,” Minho sobbed and Jisung quickly realised that this was no longer just about the party. It seemed that all of Minho’s worries had just piled in at once and Jisung sat there with his arms wrapped tightly around his boyfriend’s sobbing figure and vowed to himself that he would do whatever it would take to get Namwoon to leave them alone.</p><p>“It’s okay Minho, look at me now please,” Jisung spoke softly and Minho slightly raised his head to face his boyfriend.</p><p>“You won’t lose me,” Jisung told him, “the only time I would ever leave you was if you begged me to.”</p><p>Minho seemed to calm a little as Jisung’s words swept over him. That was always the younger boy’s biggest talent, words. </p><p>Jisung knew exactly what the say and when to say it and for Minho, that was a talent that never failed to make him feel better. Whenever he was insecure or low, Jisung could lift him back up in a sentence and Minho’s biggest wish was that he could do that for the younger boy too. </p><p>After a few minutes, Jisung’s phone pinged and Hyunjin’s message displayed itself on the screen.</p><p>‘you can come down now he’s gone and felix wants to talk to you to make sure minho is okay &lt;3’</p><p>The older began crying lightly again at that. He didn’t know why, maybe it was the overwhelming feeling that people cared enough to protect him and look out for him. After years of being isolated and thinking he would never have anyone to rely on, Minho had finally found people who would move mountains to make him happy and that in itself made him feel on top of the world.</p><p>The knowledge that Namwoon hated him and was trying everything to ruin his life would never go away but knowing that his friends were there to protect him made that thought easier, even if it was only a little. In hindsight, Minho supposed that Namwoon wasn’t the whole problem either, maybe if his father looked past his hatred of Mr Han and accepted that Jisung was much different, then Minho wouldn’t have anything to fear where Namwoon was concerned in the first place.</p><p>“Minho,” Jisung’s voice dragged him back to reality.</p><p>“Yeah?” the boy stared up at his boyfriend’s face.</p><p>“Felix wants to make sure you’re okay, do you feel alright to go downstairs?”</p><p>“Yeah I’m okay.”</p><p>“Alright then lets go.”</p><p>Minho decided that the world seemed a lot less scary when Jisung was holding his hand.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi! i’m so so sorry for both the awful quality of this chapter and how long it took me to update. i’m going through a really bad patch right now and writing is something i’m finding it really difficult to be motivated to do</p><p>but i really hope you enjoyed this chapter despite it being kinda sad and probably poorly written sjjdjd!! tysm for reading and once again for being so patient with my awful update schedule &lt;33</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. twenty two -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“I love you too, even if you do have a violent side I didn’t know about.”</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As soon as Minho rounded the corner back into the living room, Felix immediately ran up to him and engulfed him in a huge hug. </p>
<p>“Minho, I’m so sorry, I really didn’t know he was like that but it doesn’t surprise me, I’ve heard people say he’s not that nice before, don’t worry he never knew you were here or anything and I lied to him about why he should leave, are you okay?” He rambled.</p>
<p>“I’m fine Felix I promise,” Minho offered the worried boy a smile which seemed to ease him a little, “it just brought back some not so great memories but I’m okay now that he’s not here and I have you guys.”</p>
<p>Felix seemed to release the remainder of his worry after that when he was certain that Minho was okay. It warmed Minho’s heart really, to know that there was someone who was looking out for him as much as Felix was. Even the thought that despite how little time Felix had known him for, that he cared that much, really meant the world to the older boy.</p>
<p>The party went on well after that, Minho spent a lot of time laughing at Ryujin’s stories as he so often did. Jisung sang a few trot songs on karaoke followed by his and Felix’s questionable rendition of Into the Unknown. Things just felt so perfect. Minho wondered whether this was what normal life was like, a life with no cares about business or image or reputation. He craved it so badly.</p>
<p>The party paused for a moment when Felix’s doorbell rang out, “I’ll get it!” the boy smiled happily and he placed down his microphone, “I think it’s my aunt.”</p>
<p>“Tell her I said hi!” Hyunjin replied excitedly and Felix nodded before walking out of the room to the door. Minho took his attention away from the birthday boy then and placed it back upon his boyfriend who was stood in front of him holding out a microphone to him. </p>
<p>“Please duet with me,” he pouted and Minho just shook his head for what felt like the 80th time that day.</p>
<p>“Jisung, you know that karaoke isn’t my thing,” Minho whined but Jisung didn’t back down, he just pouted even harder and Minho swore he saw a tear forming in the boy’s eye. </p>
<p>“Please, just one song,” Jisung pleaded and Minho sighed loudly. It was then that someone stood in the doorway cleared their throat loudly and the room fell silent.</p>
<p>“Lee Minho, never thought I’d see you here.”</p>
<p>Minho’s blood ran cold at that. He snapped his head to the side instantly and locked eyes with the person he least wanted to see. It was frightening the way he stood there, his huge frame blocking the doorway and his cold eyes burning right back into Minho’s own. There was no way his intentions were anything but bad.</p>
<p>“W-why wouldn’t I be here?” Minho stuttered slightly but stood up from his seat anyway in an attempt to mask his rising anxiety.</p>
<p>“Didn’t assume you’d be the type of person people would want to acquaint themselves with,” Namwoon all but spat back and the room fell silent a little as people began to pay attention to them.</p>
<p>“Namwoon don’t you think that’s enough?” Felix spoke up and the boy in question barely spared the younger a second glance before speaking again.</p>
<p>“You don’t know what you’re talking about Felix,” he just replied bitterly, “you don’t know how your friend here left me to suffer when he was rich and I was in need.” The room fell silent at that and all eyes turned to Minho who felt adrenaline rushing through his bloodstream.</p>
<p>“Don’t lie to me,” Minho spoke back without so much as a slight waiver in his tone this time, he was far too angry for that, “I heard you talking to your friends about how I would just give you anything, you asked me to pay the bill at restaurants and I said yes, you asked me to help you pay your phone bill and I said yes, I would’ve even helped you pay your rent if I didn’t hear you bragging about how I would give you money with no questions,” he paused for a breath, “you were my friend and I wanted to help you but you took advantage of that from the start, you never needed the money at all.”</p>
<p>Namwoon fell silent at that. Minho was almost certain that his ex friend didn’t know he was overheard that day yet now that he did, it seemed that Namwoon had no ammunition left to fight with. Instead, there was no option but to reveal his true self.</p>
<p>“What did you really think I would be friends with you if it wasn’t for your money? Look at you, you’re awkward, you have no idea how the real world works, your head is constantly in the clouds, I acted more like your parent than your friend most of the time, why would I want to be friends with you when you’re just a liability, I bet your little friends here are faking it too, you’re impossible to like or get along with, there’s no way they actually like you especially your boyfriend, you two are suspiciously close for rivals, I bet he’s getting all sorts of information from you and feeding it back to his family.”</p>
<p>Minho had never seen anything happen so fast in his life as everything did in that moment. Suddenly Jisung was no longer stood in front of him with a microphone in his hand and Minho managed to whip his head around just fast enough to see his boyfriend land a powerful punch to Namwoon’s jaw. </p>
<p>Ryujin jumped into action after that, pulling Jisung away as Namwoon leapt up and out of the door. The other guests had fallen into commotion and Minho just sat there stuck in his place, unable to move. Jisung had just punched Namwoon. The thought just wouldn’t enter Minho’s head properly at all, that was until he saw the blood on his boyfriend’s knuckles.</p>
<p>At that sight, Minho sprung from his seat and over to where Jisung was still being held back by Ryujin despite the fact that Namwoon was long gone. “I hate him,” Jisung was still spurting angrily, “I don’t regret punching him one bit, I swear I’m the least violent person ever but him saying that about Minho, I couldn’t just let him say that.”</p>
<p>Minho crouched down next to his boyfriend and engulfed him in a huge hug causing the younger boy to immediately stop his rant, “hey Jisung please just calm down please for me, calm down,” he whispered comfortingly into his boyfriend’s ear. Jisung visibly relaxed at the words and his breathing quickly evened out from the ragged pace it was at before. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” were the next words that left Minho’s mouth, “I’m sorry to all of you, I should’ve just left when he got here and all of this could’ve been avoided.”</p>
<p>“Minho please don’t apologise at all, I’d rather know of his character than keep him around me blindly without knowing he did this to you,” Felix patted him on the back lightly, “besides after what he said, it was quite satisfying to see Jisung punch him.”</p>
<p>Minho smiled in thanks before lifting Jisung up from his position and excusing them so he could clean the boy’s wounds. They walked in silence, following Felix’s directions to the bathroom and Jisung only opened his mouth to speak when Minho set to work on cleaning his knuckles.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry I just lashed out,” the younger began, “I just… I saw red I guess, you don’t believe him right?”</p>
<p>“After that performance you just pulled?” Minho asked in disbelief, “not at all, you don’t need to apologise to me, you stood up for me and that’s made me feel so happy and loved.”</p>
<p>After pressing a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek and finishing wiping the blood from his hand, Minho decided it was time to go back downstairs. It felt odd really, to be rejoining a party after being the cause of an altercation at it but Felix had specially requested that they stay and no one could say no to Lee Felix. </p>
<p>Things were already calmer when they got back downstairs, the other guests from the party seemed to have already forgot what happened and were mostly lurking by the table eating bits of the various desserts. A few came over to Jisung and Minho to tell them that it was nice to see someone sticking up for their lover like that and that Namwoon deserved it anyway. Minho wholeheartedly agreed. </p>
<p>“You know,” the older boy turned to his boyfriend as they sat down on the sofa later on, “I don’t know how I got so lucky having someone like you.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Jisung asked in confusion.</p>
<p>“What do you mean what do I mean?” Minho just questioned back with a light smile, “I mean the fact that no matter what Namwoon did today, I don’t feel as awful as I expected I would and it’s because I’ve got you to stick up for me and protect me, I’m so grateful for everything you do Jisung.”</p>
<p>The younger boy blushed a deep red at those words as he grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and clasped it in his own, “I would punch him a thousand times if you wanted me to, I love you Minho.”</p>
<p>“I love you too, even if you do have a violent side I didn’t know about.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so so much for ready this chapter i really hope you enjoyed it!! also i want to apologise for how bad my update schedule is getting, my mental health has been on a serious decline and writing became less of an outlet and more of a chore to me over the last few months. however, it’s something that i enjoy and i want to continue doing so hopefully my updates will start to be more regular now.</p>
<p>thank you so much for dealing with my awful schedule it means so much, tysm for reading &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you so much for reading this! i am going to attempt to update this once a week and hopefully the updates will be regular !! i hope you enjoyed the chapter tysm &lt;3</p><p>you can yell at me on twitter!! :<br/>@happyhanjisung<br/>@happyhanaus<br/>or in<br/><a href="https://www.curiouscat.me/happyhanaus">my cc!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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